The one where I brag about my awesome gift-giving skills.....

Mom, if you're reading this..... STOP.

I mean it! Press that little "X" on the top right-hand corner.

Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.

Do you hear me?

Leave, immediately.

So, my Mommy is about to turn the big 5-0, at the end of October. It's so crazy to me.

In the 27 out of 50 years that I've known her, she has taught me a love of gifts. Not necessarily of "things" but of gifts and gift-giving. She's really good at it.

I like to think I'm as good, if not better.

No doubt, one of my major love-languages is gifts. The thought that goes into them means a lot to me, whether getting or giving.

Big note.......... a gift doesn't have to be expensive or cost you anything, at all.

I love it when I get someone something that I *KNOW* they are going to love. I can barely contain myself, just waiting for the time for them to open it. However, I never spill the beans before it's time.

Some of my personal favorites............

~ For Christmas, last year, I bought my step-sister tickets to see Wicked. We both desperately wanted to see it for years and she almost screamed when she saw the tickets on Christmas Day.

~ For Mother's Day, I bought my mom some really important pictures that led her to the straight-up ugly sob when she saw them. Pretty sure that I'll never be able to top that, barring giving her a grandchild on her birthday, Christmas, or Mother's Day.

~ A few Christmases ago, The Guy had to give up his beloved car. It was a really, really nice...... really, really expensive...... really, really impressive car. I'm pretty sure he loved that thing more than anything on the fact of the planet. He was extremely bummed about it. So, I went out and looked for a Matchbox car just like it.... just so he could say he still owned one, lol. It took me 3 stores, but I finally found it. That $1 car put the biggest smile on his face, lol. It stayed on his desk for almost two years, until he moved. As he was cleaning out his things and giving away little momentos, I asked him what he was going to do with the car.... "I'm taking it with me."

~ My friend Meg is due with her second baby, next month. When I did my Vera Bradley giveaway, she actually entered. One of the ways to get an entry was to tell me what your dream Vera item would be. Meg commented that she'd love a Baby Bag in Bali Blue. It got me thinking. Wanna take a guess what was in her gift bag, during her shower?

Meg was soooo excited and I was so happy she liked it!!!

Which brings me back to Momma's big birthday.

I know I won't be able to outdo Mother's Day.

However, I believe I've come as close as humanly possible (without giving birth). It's going to be epic. I'm literally about to pee myself with excitement and don't know how I'm going to stand the next month.

And, because there's no way for me to be sure that she'll not see this, I'm afraid I can't tell you what it is. You better believe I will spill as soon as October 29th rolls around, though.

But, really, this gift ROCKS. I cannot wait to give it to her!!!!

Weekly Workout Blog

Weekly Workout Blog - Week 67

Sunday - Nothing

Monday - Curves, 15 mins Elliptical, and 30 mins Treadmill

Tuesday - Nothing

Wednesday - Curves, 15 mins Elliptical, and 30 mins Treadmill

Thursday - Curves

Friday - Nothing..... I planned on going to Curves, but had a looonnnngggg week. I went home, changed clothes, and didn't leave the couch until bedtime, lol.

Saturday - 15 mins Elliptical and 45 mins Treadmill

Not so bad.......... My week was insane and I worked several long days. By the end of each day, I did NOT feel like working out, but managed to do so for the majority of the week. This is the point in the year where my nights and weekends get super busy.... in the past, I've started to slack off, so I'm going to try to avoid that as much as possible this year.

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Weekly Workout Blog - Week 67

Sunday - Nothing

Monday - Curves, 15 mins Elliptical, and 30 mins Treadmill

Tuesday - Nothing... this was planned as I was going to the Lady A concert.

Wednesday - Nothing..... I was headed to the gym when I heard about Susan's passing.

Thursday - Nothing..... I had some friends visiting Orlando and my family planned to go to dinner with them.

Friday - Nothing..... I planned on going to Curves. However, we also were having our friends come over to dinner and the prep for that took up my gym time.

Saturday - Nothing

Not a great week, at all. At all. Some extenuating circumstances led to it, but I don't want to make it a habit. Like I said, Fall is insane and I tend to slack off. I've lost 15 lbs....... I want to keep losing!!

Sunday Ramblings

Thanks to everyone for your prayers. Yesterday was Susan's Memorial..... her funeral and burial will be in a different state, where she was raised. It was such a sad, sad event, but filled with so much love and admiration for a woman who died too young but inspired us all.

In the upcoming months, please keep her husband, children, and family in your prayers. Birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas....... it will be a very hard season for them.

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Lots of things going on, last week and this upcoming week. I have a lot to blog about, including getting to see Justine, last night!!!

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I need to do two week's worth of WWB. Only it will be more like one week and a day. I only made it to the gym on Monday (I told you there was a lot going on). I feel gross and disgusting and like I'm getting flabbier by the second, lol.

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I miss GTKYS. So, I'm going to do Sunday Stealing............

1. Where are you from?

Central Florida..... born, raised, and still residing.

 

2. If you could live any place in the world, where would you live?

Nashville....... I feel like I could live there and love it. Plus, I already know a lot of people there, so (hopefully) I wouldn't be too lonely.

3. What's your favorite blog? I'll check them out of course!

See my sidebar for "Blogs I Adore".... I read all of them, faithfully!

 

4. What is your biggest blogging pet peeve?

It really bugs me when people leave "I love your blog. Cute, seriously SO cute.... follow me, so I can follow you!" comments. It makes me doubt that you actually read it or that you're out for anything more than a new follower.



5. What's your favorite TV show this season? I need a new show! :)

My DVR is chock-full. I've not had any time to watch any of the shows I recorded...... let's just say there are a lot of them.

6. What's your favorite 'down' time {nothing computer related}?

I like to read or watch TV or go to a movie or go to Disney World. I like to go for dinner or coffee with friends and just chat.

7. Are you a parent? If so, what's your favorite thing to do with your children?

I am not. However, my favorite thing to do with any of the children in my life is have a "Dance Party." We'll turn on the radio and dance around.

8. What about your blog, have you considered changing?

Nothing. I go in phases.... sometimes, I will do nothing but meme's. Other times, I'll post a bunch of event recaps. Other times, I'll just ramble about what is going on in my head.

9. What do you do for a living (if you work outside the home or if you work at home)?

I am the Promotions Director for four radio stations. It's fun and challenging!

10. What is your favorite song at the moment? What is your favorite song ever?

I love way too many songs to pick just one. I recently did a 30-Day Song Challenge.

11. What is your favorite niche TV channel to watch?

I don't, usually. I guess, TLC? I used to watch a lot of SoapNet, lol.

12. If you could have any career, what would it be and why?

I'm in the career I want to be in! There are other things in the Entertainment field I think I'd like to do, but this is definitely where I want to be.

13. What is your favorite outfit?

Anything comfy. I'm a t-shirt and jeans kind of girl. There are a couple of cute dresses that I feel really girly and pretty in, but mainly it's shirts and jeans.

14. If you could tell your teenage self something, what would you say?

As much as you hate the gym, start going NOW. Go at least three times a week and save your 27-year old self the hassle of losing so much weight.

Don't stress about boys. They aren't worth it............ Oh, and, you most certainly won't end up with T, that you're so crazy about, but it will be ok. You'll see why.... as great of a guy as he is (and truly, he is) he isn't for you.

Spend more time with Papa TJ and Mike. They'll be gone soon and you'll miss them.

Cherish your friendships and your friends....... you do a pretty good job of it and always have, but keep it up.

15. What is your favorite recipe?

Anything easy, lol.

16. What is the funniest joke you've ever heard?

I've heard lots of funny jokes. Most of the time, the funniest ones are situational and are only funny to the people that were there, lol.

17. What is your favorite vacation spot and why?

I've recently discovered a love of cruise ships, lol.

Other than a big boat that takes me lots of fun places, I love NYC, LA, Nashville, and to visit my cousins in the dreaded New Mexico.

18. What are you most excited about with fall here?

Cooler weather!!! This summer was ROUGH!!! Already, the humidity is lower and the temperature is slowly dropping.

19. Did you envision yourself to be where you are today ten years ago? If not, what did you envision?

No, I didn't. I thought I'd be married and working on a kid or two by now. That was the only plan I had.

 I really wasn't sure what I'd be doing, but I never imagined I'd be working for a radio station, lol.

20. If money were no object, what would your dream house look like?

Wrap around porches.......... second story wrap around verandah..... lots of bedrooms...... a dance studio..... a really big kitchen where people can gather.

21. What is your all-time favorite Disney movie?

Let me go on record....... I LOVE DISNEY. Period. There are very few of their movies that I don't like.

That said, I really love Sleeping Beauty. I also love the Toy Story movies..... Beauty and the Beast.... Cinderella..... Aladdin.... just to name a few!

22. What blog do you think isn't getting enough notice?

I don't know, lol.

A New Angel In Heaven

Heaven gained a new angel, today.

Let me tell you about Susan.............

About 4 years ago, I was subbing and I got a random assignment for this 2nd grade teacher. I went, did my substitute teacher thing, and then went about my life. About a week later, I was subbing at the school again and stopped by that same 2nd grade class to introduce myself to the teacher and see if everything was ok as I left it. Susan was a new teacher that year and we chatted about the class, if I'd be willing to be called on again, and just general stuff. Throughout the school year, I got called by her a few more times to sub.

In August 2007, Susan called me with a big request. She was expecting twins (after a long struggle to get pregnant!!!) and was hoping I'd sub for her while she was on maternity leave. At the beginning of October, I took over her classroom and taught for three months. I loved and adored that class.... they were "my" kids (and I was sad to give them back, lol). We mainly kept in touch via email for those three months.... and she sent me the link to her blog, so I could keep up on the scoop of the kiddos!!! (Reading her blog led me to read other blogs which eventually led me to starting my own. She inspired me in so many other ways, too.)

After my subbing job was over, I came back a few more times to cover for her, as well as saw her around the school. The next school year, she moved up to 3rd grade with "our" kids. I ended up doing another long-term assignment for another 3rd grade teacher. We were so excited to have one another down the hall and spent too much time chatting while our kids were at Specials or sticking our heads out the door to finish up a conversation.

A couple weeks after that assignment was over, I got offered my full-time job at the station. She (among other teachers) were SO happy and supportive, but also let me know how much they were going to miss me. I stopped in a few times for lunch with them and kept up on Facebook.

A little over a year ago, Susan got a job teaching virtual school. Leaving her with some flexibility, we made plans to go to lunch as often as possible, which ended up being about 4-6 times last school year. Between FB and our blogs, we were fairly caught up and would discuss the fun detail that you sometimes leave out of public forums, lol. She always encouraged me and prayed with me and just plain inspired me. We also had a mutual obsession with Vera Bradley and would splurge after lunch, lol.

The last time I saw her in person was on Mother's Day.......... her family and mine ran into each other at Carrabba's. Summer was already pretty full of plans and trips for her, but we promised to start up lunches again once Fall came around.

Fast-forward to the beginning of September....... I got a FB message from her to several of us called "My Brain Thingy." It was explaining something that was going on with her brain, but honestly, I didn't understand a lot of it. I added her to my mental prayer list. On Monday, she posted that she had her surgery the next day...... I commented that I'd pray for her. Tuesday morning, she put up a couple of FB statuses, indicating that she was still in the waiting room and was bored. A couple times, I sent up a quick prayer.

I didn't hear anything after those initial updates. My day got busy and exciting, and I stupidly just assumed that everything was fine.

This afternoon, a mutual friend/former coworker posted on Facebook the news. Susan passed away.

I still don't have all the details, but............ In surgery, she had a stroke. At first, they thought it would take rehab, but she'd recover. Unfortunately, though, her brain began to swell for reasons they couldn't figure out. Today, they declared that she had no brain activity.

Susan

June 6, 1977 - September 22, 2010

Susan left behind a husband....... one that loved her like I've prayed God gives me in a husband. She leaves behind two beautiful children who will turn three, in October....... a mother to them like I've prayed to God that I'll be able to be to my own someday. She leaves behind countless family and friends that miss her, love her, and were inspired by her.

Please pray. Please pray for her husband and those sweet babies. Please pray for her family and friends. I know that God calls us when it's our time. I know He has healed her and she's now in a better place. It's us that are worse off without her in our world.

Susan and I, December 2007, at "our" class' holiday party.

Vacation Day Three - Key West

Tuesday, August 31st

Early in the morning, we pulled into port in Key West, Fl. I'm a native Floridian, but had never been to Key West, so I was SUPER excited to visit.

The first thing we saw? Chickens. The last thing we saw? Chickens. There are chickens EVERYWHERE. In fact, they are protected (though I'm not sure why).

My mom and I decided not to do a ship excursion in Key West. We figured it wouldn't be hard to find a good deal in town. We were right! The trolley that takes you from the boat into town drops you off right at the "train depot." They had all sorts of sight-seeing deals that were much cheaper than booking with the boat. We bought our tickets and headed towards the first stop.

It was early morning, still, and nice weather, so we enjoyed walking through town. However, please note that people in Key West don't really know how to count blocks. Whenever we asked a local how to get somewhere it was, "Go up two blocks and it's one block on the left."

At about the 8th block, we came across the smallest Hard Rock Cafe in the world (at least that's what the sign said). I honestly thought it had awesome character and would have loved to go inside if it were open.

The town really is so cute and fun. At one point, we passed this store that I've only seen in CityWalk. In fact, LW, Britt, and Justine.......... it's the store that sells the Vera Bradley. I didn't realize there was more than one and thought it was cool.

About 15 blocks after we started our 2 block journey, we hit on the first stop.......

Isn't this house GORGEOUS?!?!?! I absolutely LOVE it. I want to put in A/C and live there forever!

One of Hemingway's Six-Toed Cats. There are 40-50 of these cats living on the premises at any given time. They keep strict logs of heritage and keep the cats in good health. My favorite thing is that people aren't allowed to touch the furniture, but the cats are all over it. While we were standing in the living room, two cats got in a huge fight on the couch, lol.

I love this and want one for my house.......

I want this tile in my house, too.

What do you do when your husband has an affair and runs off to Cuba with his mistress? You put in a $20,000 (back then) pool!

I loved this book..... 'A Farewell To Arms.'

Key West Lighthouse

Sooooooooooo pretty........

Found this amusing......

After Hemingway's house, we started on another "2 Block" walk. On the way, we got to the very start of Hwy 1..........

We finally got to Harry Truman's Little White House. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the house, but I really enjoyed it! Very informative and kind of neat to see how a President would relax.

Me with "President Truman"

Our final event in Key West was the Conch Train Tour. It took us around the island.

The Southernmost Point of the US. I would have loved to actually get a picture with it, but our driver wouldn't stop :(

We had to be back on the ship by 1:30pm. We went to lunch and while we were sitting there, my phone rang. It was work. Despite my mom's promises that I didn't actually have to answer it, I did. It was my boss. He, of course, had a question that he couldn't answer. As we were talking, I watched our ship pull away from post (we were sitting next to a window). "Hey, M, as we talk, we are literally pulling into International Waters. I won't be reachable for the next 3 days. Bye!"

Having officially shut off work, I enjoyed my afternoon to the fullest. I read by the pool. I looked through the shops. I watched people. I scoffed at the cruisers in the Internet Cafe. It was awesome!

Tuesday was Formal Night. We got dressed up in our finery (and my brand-new shoes) and headed to dinner.

Once again, dinner was delish. Dinner was consistently my favorite meal of the day. Especially the Melting Chocolate Cake for dessert. I ordered it 3 out of the 4 nights. So yummy.

My second favorite part of dinner was the nightly entertainment. The first night, all the staff danced to "Low"..... I almost wet myself laughing and then almost cried because I didn't bring my camera.

I didn't make that mistake again...........

Mama and I all dressed up!

We went to the show, again. Then, I called it an early night. Call me a grandma, but I was whipped, lol.

Mr. Frog

*** Disclaimer: I was given a small compensation to link to http://www.southernmostresorts.com/. I've personally not used their services, but they look really nice!

Vacation Day Two - Let Me Take You On A Sea Cruise

August 30th...........

We woke up on Monday, packed, and headed downstairs to the car.

Yes. This is our luggage. Sadly, only about 3 of these bags stayed in the car. Everything else went on the ship with us.

YAY!!!!!!!!!

I hate the smell of sunscreen, but this still excited me, lol.

Our boat........

We were so excited to get on that ship. The earliest you could get on the boat was 12:30pm....... at 12:35pm we were on board. You couldn't get into your room until 1:30pm, but they were serving lunch on the Lido deck. It took us a few minutes to grasp that there were about 50 different lines you could get in with about 2000 different food options.

Note: This is where Jess threw all dietary concerns out the window.

After our meal, it was time to find our room. Our home away from home for the next 4 days. I'll be honest.... the ship was a little confusing for the first day or so. I'm the type that likes to get the lay of the land, as soon as possible. So, I did a lot of walking around, trying to figure out the pathways, where everything was, and the best way to get there.

Note about Jess: My mom trusts this. She knows that I will figure out subway lines, directions, and everything else almost immediately. So, when I'm around, she rarely bothers. Don't get me wrong, she is absolutely MORE than able..... there are some people that are directionally challenged (I have several friends that are)..... my mom is not one of those people. She just knows that I am much more comfortable being the one that knows where we are and so she lets me. It makes it slightly interesting when I'm not around to walk 15 paces ahead of her, but that just adds to the funnies when we travel, lol.

We got into our room and almost squealed with glee that we had a window!

It's a good thing we didn't waste the breath on a squeal.................

We unpacked, took a little nap, and then woke up just in time to get to our Muster Station a full ten minutes before they told us to start going to them.

Public Service Announcement: When you go cruising, specifically on a boat with me, know where your Muster Station is ahead of time. Get there early and stay there. And if, for some unknown reason, you are unable to get there before the Safety Drill, get there AS SOON AS the booming voice tells you to. Don't go to your room to change, first. Don't stop by the bar to get a drink. Don't take your dear sweet time. Don't lollygag. And, for the love of all that is holy, don't sit on the verandah above a Muster Station looking down at all of us, thinking you are too cool. You are not above the Safety Drill. There's this little thing called 'The Titanic' that makes it necessary. So, be prepared. Know where you are going. And get there. Quickly. Because, really, you are just wasting precious minutes of everyone else's (re: MY) well-deserved vacation. And, we (re: I) might yell at you. Mkay? Thanks.

Once the morons on the boat found their Muster Stations, it was time to set sail!!!!

Heading out of the Port of Miami!

Once we were officially at sea, we did some more exploration. I hit the gym. We went to dinner (where I ate the best porkchop I'd ever had in my life). Our table was full of Floridians.... we got along like peanut butter and jelly.

We went to the show. It was a fairly good show. However, the dancer in me wanted to ask them who their dance captain was and offer to sit in on a rehearsal. They weren't very synchronized and it annoyed me everytime we watched a show. I know.... it's critical of me.

After the show, we decided to hit the hay. We had an early morning coming in Key West!! Upon entering our room, we found this...........

A Seal

It made my night and would continue to delight me throughout the week, lol.

I wonder what Freud would say about this.......

For the past 3 nights, I've been having very, very strange and very, very vivid dreams. They are the kind of dreams that I remember when I wake up and bother me while I'm sleeping.

It's actually really annoying because I'd like an awesome night's sleep.

Anyway, among the strange and vivid were one of my mom (who is happily married, in real life) and Fun Distraction getting together.

A quick recap.......... "FD" is a semi-coworker with whom I've enjoyed a fairly harmless flirtation for the past year or so. He's a nice guy, but I'm not thinking there will ever be anything than a few casual lunches, a couple group outings, and some pretty consistent flirting. For multiple reasons (a couple of which you can read here and here), I don't see it ever going anywhere, for real.

Back to the dream........... my mother (who was single, for some unknown reason) and FD started dating. I wasn't very happy about it, but my mom kept saying, "I don't know why you are so bothered by this....... he's a little younger than me, but he's much closer to my age than yours." - Which is true (have I mentioned that FD is actually quite a bit older than me?)

FD kept saying, "Hey, I really like you and don't mind flirting with you. In fact, we can keep it up, if you want. But, I'm with your mom, now."

I kept saying, "Mom, how can you date someone I used to flirt with? FD, how can you date the mom of someone you've spent almost two years flirting with? Am I the only one who thinks this is gross?"

I woke up very disturbed.

Then, I texted FD that I had a dream that he and my mom got together, and that I was very disturbed by it.

He responded that he was annoyed that it wasn't me and him in the dream........ and, that he takes it to mean that I think he's an old man.

I'd like to tell him that my mom isn't an old woman (she's just turning 50, this year, for goodness' sake), but that's hardly the point.

I rarely think too hard about dreams, but this one has me bothered, lol.

Vacation - Day One (and pre-1/2)

So, for my birthday, my mom and I went on a cruise! I was already planning to take vacation the week after my birthday and my mom planned to surprise with the news on my bday!

Saturday, August 28th, we loaded up the car (and I do mean loaded) and headed down to Miami. We left around 6pm and got into our hotel around 11pm. Momma was ready to party and see the sights........ Jessica was tired from a long work week and ready to go to bed. Isn't that sad?!?!

Sunday morning, we woke up and were ready to explore. My mom used to live in Miami before I was born and I'd only been once.

First though, we opened the curtains of our complimentary upgraded room.........

Two walls of floor-to-ceiling windows. Awesome.

View down to the pool. I'm sure it was lovely at ground level.

Miami Herald (where my mom once worked) and the Port of Miami

From here, we took our life into our own hands. Mom had read on the internet about the Miami MetroMover. She was all excited about free transportation around the city.

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT ride the Miami MetroMover. It is not like a New York Subway or a DC Metro or any other form of great public transportation in big cities with great public transportation. I literally was nervous for our safety and in need of either medication or a stiff drink once we finally got off.

We were hungry and nervous and wanted something great and comforting..............

BUBBA GUMP'S!!!!!!

After we ate and lowered our blood pressure, we went down by the water. There was a small little amphitheatre with a band, singing, and dancing........

Some sort of Latin line dancing.....

Sweet little lady dancing.....

This man had some moves.....

.... which you can see here........

Cute couple dancing.........

You wouldn't expect this guy to have one hip to shake, but he was owning it, lol.

I found this to be slightly amusing.

At this point, I had a realization that I'd forgotten my shoes for the formal night on the ship. We then went on a full search for shoes that would work....... hours later, we had them.

After a dinner of 5 Guys, we went back to the hotel and crashed.

Next up...... On the good ship!!!

Is this thing on?

Just testing..........

I've published two (here and here) posts in the past 24 hours and neither of them have shown up in my Reader. I also noticed that a few "regulars" who usually post daily haven't shown up.

Are my posts showing up in yours? Am I missing other people's posts, as well, or have they all just taken the day off?


Edited to add: Ok, so I published this one and it immediately showed up in my Reader. Yet, the other two haven't. Is Blogger acting wonky for anyone else or is it just me, lol?

Half-Marathon........... Thoughts?

As you know, by now, I have been working really hard. I workout a lot. Like, 5-6 days a week. I do this to be healthy, but also to help me lose weight. My goal is to be a certain weight by my ten-year reunion, next June.

However, I'm thinking of adding another goal to my list.

A couple weeks ago, I was at my friend Meg's baby shower. At the shower were her sister Robyn and our friend Shannon. Robyn has recently gotten into running and Shannon has done races, in the past. We started talking and decided that doing the Disney Princess Half-Marathon together would be great. It would be fun bonding time, would give us a concrete reason to workout regularly, and would be an overall amazing experience.

Since then, the conversation has floated through my head a couple times, but that was it. Last night, though, Robyn FBed me with links and questions.

It looks like I may actually do this thing.

Here's the rub........ I don't run. I mean, I can learn to, but I would basically be taking the next 5 1/2 months to learn.

According to the rules, you need to pace at a 16-minute mile. When I'm on the treadmill, I walk a little faster than a 15-minute mile. I've gone as long as an hour (4.2 miles)..... which means I'm almost 1/3 of the way there. I'm not exactly starting from scratch. So, if I can work on distance, etc, I think it might be possible.

Are any of you runners or long-distance walkers/woggers?

Any thoughts on someone who doesn't run signing up for a half-marathon that is only 5 1/2 months away?

Am I crazy for even thinking about this?