Where did July go!?

This was the week from hell. I suppose it didn't start out too bad, but it sure went downhill quickly. So the obvious choice was to make the weekend fabulous, which is exactly what we did! Friday I crashed at my sisters house so we could drink (um, if you haven't had the Whipped Vodka, you are seriously missing out. Mixed with orange juice, it tastes just like a dreamsicle! Amazing.), do some night swimming, hang out with the kids, etc.

It took no time at all after dinner for K-man to jump in the pool....and it really doesn't take long of hearing "Aunt Nicole are you getting in!?" before I jump in - which really WAS a great way to end a hellacious week, especially when he talked Sam and I into playing "Monkey in the Middle".

Let me just say complete obvious: my nephew is the cutest person in the world. Seriously. I love that kid. I had to run to the store, so I took him with me. (Where he completely took advantage of the whole "Aunt Nicole really doesn't say no to me that often!" deal, and we left the store with new toys for him). Sitting next to me, he goes "so...Mom got pulled over by the Smyrna police yesterday." Wanting to laugh, since I know my sister - and I'm not surprised she got pulled over again- I say "Really?" And Kadin responds "Yeah. AND she didn't get arrested!!!!" Love, love, love this kid. (I guess I should note Sam wasn't doing anything to get arrested for, haha, she was on the shoulder of the road)

And did I mention Kadin made two beds for me before I got there? Couch, and his room, whichever I wanted. I wound up on the couch to start off and watch a movie with him, but moved to his room after awhile, and when I walked in I found this -- his stuffed animals, on their own pillow and blanket. He's such a sweet boy.

I'm always amused with the kids. Paige is 14 now, so she's usually busy being a teenager with friends, and getting ready for High School. As I'm getting ready for the pool, I hear her in the room skyping with some friends - and then hear Kadin tip toe in her room to squeal "PAIGE, WHO IS THAT?! IS THAT YOUR BOOOOOYFRIEND? OOOHHH PAIGE IS SKYPING WITH A BOYFRIEND! THAT'S A BOYFRIEND!" I'm so glad I didn't have a little brother growing up, haha. I was the annoying little sister.

Mom, Tresa (who is like a part of the family!) and baby Braxton came over to celebrate Braxton's first birthday and let me do a photo shoot with him. I vamped my sisters kitchen into my studio for the day, and we had a blast with Braxton's Smash the Cake shots. Baby B makes me laugh, he's walking now so he really doesn't want to sit. But he LOVES to dance and will sit and bounce if you play him music - so the way we got him to pose for his formal portraits was to continuously play "I'm Sexy and I Know It". That was a first : )

How is July just about over!?!?

Wordless Wednesday: Missing Disneyland...& my twin cousin!

Happy Birthday....

Friday would have been my Granny's 85th Birthday. It is crazy to think she's been gone 2 years now, and we sure miss her like crazy. There hasn't been a day that has gone by in the past 15 months where my Sister, Mom & I haven't talked about her. (Side note: Friday ALSO would have been my Grandparent's Wedding anniversary. It tickles me they married on her birthday, and I have in my head when I get married, it will fall on  July 20th!)

Anyway, every year on the anniversary of her death, we do something, and every year on her birthday we do something to celebrate. So, Friday we decided on lunch and my Mom, Sis & the kids met me in Franklin to have lunch in Moe's (where Kadin says he wants to eat at every day. Have I mentioned lately how much I love this kid?). Considering Granny's intense love for purple, it was no surprise when we got out of the car and every one of us was decked out in her color.

As we sat down to eat, Kadin out of the blue goes, "Is Great Granny here with us?". Laughing, my sister said "Are you kidding?! There is food involved, of course she's here with us!" A little perplexed, Kadin said "Is she sitting here with us?!?", and Sam explained she was watching over us.

It wasn't even 10 minutes later when Kadin announced that Great-Granny was sitting in the seat next to Paige.

Mom, Sam, Paige, Kadin & I have all had weird stuff happen since Granny died, but this just solidified my thoughts that she's definitely hanging around us, and I have no doubt Kadin has seen her or seen a presence.  (Yeah, sorry, my sister and I are all about the paranormal stuff. Thanks Sylvia Browne for all our amazing knowledge ;) )

So Happy Birthday Granny....I'm glad she could spend her special day with us!

Thinspiration Thursday!

Okay, okay, I know some folks take "thinspiration" in a negative form, but.....in our clever minds, THINSPIRATION THURSDAY was a fabulous idea. (And by we, I of course mean my twin cousin Emily and I!)

I'm not into dieting. I don't really see the point - and I think some of the diets I see people do are just as harmful to their body as eating junk would be. While I know there are some fabulous real diets out there - they aren't for me.  (So spare telling me how awesome your carb-less diet is. I will die without bread, true story.)

However, I AM all for attempting to be healthier - which is what I am doing! I don't eat as horrendous as some folks, but I'm pretty sure I could live on Coca Cola - trust me, attempting to cut back on Coca Cola is ridiculous.  I've really slowly been working on eating a little better, and eating at home a little more. Domestic Goddess, I am not - so making dinner is quite a triumph for me - and I mean that. I was 25 when I had to call my Mom and ask her how I was supposed to make hamburger meat. (Thank goodness I've mastered my favorite, chicken! I totally need more chicken recipes though, send them to me!)

I started everything with adding the ever dreaded exercise to my life. Totally lazy, I'll admit it. When I'm home, my butt is planted at the computer usually, to work on websites, edit photos - insert "no time" mentality here. I invested in the Wii & Wii Fit at the beginning of the year in hopes that it would at least motivate me. It really IS a great little kick starter - I call it the lazy man's exercise. It's great for burning some calories (and maybe for rainy days - I'd still recommend it to people!!!), but not enough to really make that much of a difference. What it did do is warm me up and make me active - EXACTLY what I needed! Jogging and Running are two of my new friends - and most importantly, I'm becoming very consistent about it, which is totally the key!  (Shhh, but I actually really like going jogging!)

Setting a goal weight isn't in the cards - because quite frankly, I don't want this to become a diet, I want it to be a lifestyle change. But I'm not going to lie - I'm going to look as kick ass as Michelle Pfeiffer in this dress when the bestie and I hit Kentucky for the Derby next year! (PS: Does she ever freaking age!?)

Thank you....

I got a thank you card this week, and when they wrote out the "thank you", I couldn't help but notice it was spelt "THX".

Look, I'm one of those annoying people who have my phone glued to my hand all the time. I text people more than anything, and I hate having to actually call most people. So I GET the art of texting - really, I do. What I don't get is making yourself look completely illiterate for the sake of texting - and then carrying your lingo into other conversations.

And yes, I take full advantage of text lingo, you know, the ever so normal ones like "OMG", "LOL" - actually shortening longer phrases. I'm not too lazy to spell out the word thanks, and I don't see the point in using phrases like "kno" for "know" or "ur" for "your" - it's not that hard people, put some effort into it.

I guess I should just be grateful I received a Thank You card - because I cannot remember the last time I received one. Manners seem to be dying off, or at least in our new generations. (And yes, I feel like a little old lady saying that) But a simple genuine "Thank You" really does go a long way. However, being too lazy to properly spell the word makes it much less effective.

Finally Back!

Yes, finally back! Major change, moving away from Wordpress and going to Blogger (yes, I know, I did it backwards!) It is just a lot easier to try to follow a few Blogger friends by USING blogger. And, I'm the oddball, but I was tired of fooling with wordpress.

So, back, with new everything, and trying to get the old entries transferred over here! Now to finish getting this set up - and to get my domain transfer to finish & point here :)

moments....

There's moments in your life that will be etched in your memory forever. This day two years ago is one of those moments. It still feels like yesterday that I got the sobbing call from my sister telling me to pull over, not wanting me to be driving when she told me of our Granny's passing.

I have so many memories from that week. Some memories I don't really want to remember, like finding pieces of her teeth laying in the back porch where she fell. Some memories I'll treasure forever, like being given the moment for my sister & I to run our fingers in her hair one last time. Or every local business in Madison coming up to us to tell us stories of how much they loved her. (Yes, in her 80's, my Grandmother was more of a social butterfly than I am at the age of 28!) Or cleaning her apartment out with my cousins, and seeing she never threw away anything when it came to us. (Because who kept the paper teddy bear with my name written on it that hung on my kindergarten cubicle? Granny.)

One moment that will forever stay etched in my mind is so simple....after leaving moms house the day of the news to go home & pack, as I got in the car my iPod switched to Patty's "The Grandpa I Know"....

I never met my Grandfather. He died of a heart attack a few years before I was born. Ironically, the two of us grandchildren that never met him are the two that are the most like him. Grandpa lived for playing guitar & vintage country music. An avid fan fair goer, and loved to record himself playing music. My cousin Jeremy inherited the guitar skills, and I inherited the massive love (okay, so obsession. For what it's worth, his was an obsession too!) for vintage country music.  I may never have had the chance to meet him, but my Granny was sure to tell me repeatedly how much I reminded her of him. Because my Gran was such a hoarder, I've seen every picture probably ever taken of him, have every paper he probably ever signed, and have the letters he wrote her during the war - so I feel like I did know my Grandfather. And thanks again to that love of music - if I ever want to hear him, all I have to do is pop in the tapes he left behind, singing the kind of music my sister scrunches her nose at and I can't get enough of.

My grandparents married when my Granny was 19, in 1946, and were married until his death in 1978, and I never even saw her date anyone else.

When Patty released "The Grandpa I Know", everyone that heard it was moved, myself included. (Especially once you heard her do it live.) But I never fully identified with it. I don't think I honestly was ever as emotionally overcome with a song as I was when this came through my speakers the day my Granny died. While the entire song is incredible, it was these lyrics that hit me:

Grandma was his boyhood bride
He'll be there in her arms tonight
He'll sleep there in her arms tonight

My grandmother knew she wasn't going to be around forever, and apparently though ahead...which I discovered when I found a letter to us in her purse when cleaning out the apartment. Certainly not an easy thing to read, but as we read the page about her being at peace with what happens, and wanting to be with my grandfather again, those lyrics were all I could think of in my mind. Music is a powerful thing...