Apologizes.

Well, I am officially horrible at this.

Life is C-R-A-Z-Y right now. School is back in full swing. Baby showers and wedding showers are everywhere. I am, of course, still surrounded by these wonderful ladies and gentleman I get to call my friends and family. Football season is here (hence the pretty pic from our pressbox). Fall weather is in the air, and I am one happy girl. Details to follow.

The good. The bad. The ugly.

It's been forever since I blogged, so here's a quick synopsis. I'll try to do better. Promise.

The good:

PURCHASING AN AMAZON KINDLE. vacation. being home from vacation. seeing my grandmother and my mom. the iPhone 4 even though I don't own one. new home decor from Hobby Lobby. having Mazatlan after having none for 2 weeks. making up for lost time with understanding, loving, true blue friends. Victoria's Secret AND Bath and Body Works Semi-Annual Sales. The Rescue Me AND the Entourage season premieres: genius.

The bad:

a dear friend's loss. recovering from cellulitis. Pugh's recovery from her emergency surgery. family reunions (I mean that in the nicest way possible.) not doing lesson plans while on vacation which was the plan. the 1st 2 episodes of the new True Blood season.

The ugly:

no more World Cup for Team USA. a sneaky, quick mouse in my living room. my bank account due to vacation and other irresponsible decisions (see Kindle.) painting 2 bathrooms. trying to hang pictures but really only leaving holes in the wall. the awful dish water blonde color the sun has turned my hair.

Mostly Sports Thursday

I am still on vacation here at the lovely Rosemary Beach. However, the sports world is up and kicking at the moment. It would be a great time to be sitting at home bored cause there would be lots to keep me busy. Game 7 of the NBA Finals is tonight. I have always considered the Lakers a bit on the overrated side, and to say the least, my bro and I are in disagreement of this fact. I'm hoping that KG and the Celtics can pull it out. Following a night of basketball, our household will be rising early to watch the USA World Cup game. I have successfully transformed them all into soccer fans. Well, maybe not soccer fans, but World Cup fans at the very least. Yesterday I went downstairs to my room to watch the Spain/ Switzerland game because I didn't want the fam to have to watch it. There was an intense moment in the game, and I hear them upstairs yelling along with me. Just like that, they were hooked :) Jackson is even contemplating a career as a Team USA goalie. We will be dressed in our red, white, and blue and ready to go at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow. I must say though it would be nice to watch the game with my BFF Mr. Brashear.

Last night we also paid a visit to one of my favorite places, Seaside. Kids, teenagers, and adults all love this place. There is something for everyone. We had dinner at The Shrimp Shack, ice cream at Heavenly, and chillaxed with some live music from a band in Nashville on the grassy knoll.

I am absolutely NOT hoping to prepare for Toy Story 3 today by watching Toy Story 1 and 2 with the nieces and nephew. And of course, by absolutely not, I mean I absolutely am.

I am obviously enjoying being an aunt and sister all week, but I do miss being a best friend. I have felt a bit lost without my other halves, and I do miss them greatly.

My Oh My.

Alright, so let's just say that my vacay did NOT get off to a good start. First of all, I ran around crazy all last week trying to get junk settled to leave for 2 whole weeks. That's a hard task to do now that I'm responsible for a house. Not to mention, I needed to celebrate my birthday, my mom's birthday, and Father's Day (lame) before I left. My birthday was Friday, and of course, my friends (KP, Fal, and Tabs) provided the upmost of entertainment. What seemed like it was going to be just another night in Nashville quickly was not. Saturday I ran around crazy until my birthday/mom's birthday/Father's Day dinner at the Mom's. She made chocolate gravy. Don't. Even. Get. Me. Started. There was then another impromptu trip to Nashville, which turned out way better then I really wanted it to. Made it home around 5 a.m. and was at the niece's house (Jordo) at 8:30 a.m. to leave for Rosemary Beach. On the way out of DC: bluelights. Speeding ticket for 15 mph over ONLY because he caught me right where it switches from 55 to 45. Stupid. He also got frustrated with me for trying to hold his clipboard. Really? 7 hours later: Jordo and I roll up to The Lazy Parrot (the name of our house.) I will be spending 2 weeks here with the nieces ( Jordo, Amb, and Clarah) the nephew, Jackson and my bro and sister-in-law. We went to bed early, so we would be rested and ready to head to the beach Monday morning. Monday was also my Mom's birthday, so we got up and sang a speakerphone seven person rendition of the Birthday Song to her. After our little ditty, my mother then informs us that she has been in the ER all night with my grandmother. My Nurse BFF, Pugh, stayed in the ER with my family and is again proof that I have the absolute best friends in the entire flippin' world. I have been stressed to the tee and worried senseless because I haven't been at home with my Maw. Yesterday was a waiting game for whether or not I needed to leave. The best case scenario for what was wrong has been determined, so I do feel a tinsy winsy bit better. If anything goes wrong, I will obviously be hitting HWY 331 like it's nobody's business. Oh, you think I'm finished, but I'm not. Apparently I have this really cool re-occuring condition called Cellulitis that breaks out on my ear that is stress related. Guess what has decided to pay me a visit? Crappy, crappy, crappy. Thank goodness I have a pretty sweet doc back home who can just call me in a script for antibiotics and painkillers. It hurts real bad. On the bright side (I'm glad Cr made it safely through Bonaroo,) I am on a beautiful beach with a fantastic family. I talked to my grandmother this afternoon, and she sounded well, and she isn't in any pain. It can only go up from here.

Sidenote: I am super pumped about World Cup play. I am shocked that we tied England, and I can't wait to see what happens! Tim Howard is BA! USA! USA!

She get it from her momma

Disclaimer: corny, sentimental blog to come. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Do you have those people in your life that every time you sit down and talk to them you just know it's going to be a darn good conversation? No matter what you're talking about, you just know it's good people and good conversation. I have quite a few of these people, but specifically today I was sitting poolside at Auntie K's chatting it up with 1 of them. KB and I got on the topic of our mothers. Basically, what we were discussing was that our mothers are phenomenal, and they have given us so much to be thankful for. The point of our convo was also the fact that anytime we start to complain about some mundane problem we have, we try to remember all of the trials our madres have lived through. Don't get me wrong. I know most girls think their moms are the best and yada yada, but seriously my mom really is. I would never divulge all of my mom's personal facts via internet, but take my word for it: the lady is 1 tough cookie. She is by far the most selfless person I know. She lives for her kids, her family, and doing for others. I can only hope to be half the woman she is. I also believe that she is who she is because of all of the tragic happenings of her life. I am much weaker than her because she has sheltered me from anything even close to all that she has overcome. She still leaves me little "I love you" notes all over my house for me. She cooks all my friends' favorite dishes for them at all hours of the night and day. Examples: fudge, (Ms. Hawaii, Pugh, Cr) chocolate gravy, (BFF-J, Pugh, KP) chocolate oatmeal cookies, (Pugh and Fal) and her sweet tea is basically famous. Even if it does put you in a diabetic coma. Along with my Auntie K, my mom has taught me what unconditional love is. Not just unconditional love for me (they have to love me) but for everyone regardless of their flaws. Let's just go ahead and say it: Betty Jo is the shit. And yes, she is honored to know that her potty mouth daughter describes her this way :) Okay, I'm done.

Steal some cover. Share some skin.

I have had a very blessed last couple of days. I was able to combine old friends, new friends, and the fam with some redneck fun in the boondocks. We embarked on the Bad Ass Wheel Weekend on the Duck River in small town U.S.A. Friday and Saturday. We floated for 5 HOURS! Yes I complained, yes I was whiney. 5 hours was a little much for me, but I had an absolute blasty blast. KP and Fal had a bit more fun that I did, but someone has to be the responsible one I guess ;) J/k. They were only one step ahead of me. Fal lost all of her possessions, and bathroom juice might be her enemy. KP's camera has permanent water damage. Bonfires, cornhole, and four-wheelers set off a pretty kick A weekend. KP, Fal, and I also pretty much met the ying to our yang: Ms. Niki Noodle. We were also introduced to the sweetest 7 year old Puerto Rican beat boxer and his parentals. Our hostesses worked so hard, and it was greatly appreciated and enjoyed. I will add pictures on later posts.

Another pretty sweet happening in the days of my life happened Wednesday morning. I got on one of my "teacher cheap" websites. Normally STAR magazine (absolute "smut" as Candy would call it, but I can't help but love and relish in it. Plus, it reminds me of the good ole days in room 114) runs $79 for 52 issues in a year. Instead I paid $7.99 for 52 issues in a year! Thank you www.tanga.com! Preciate it.

Also this evening, I have a shout out to the people of Dish Network: I dislike you so much. Your technical representatives make me want to punch myself in the face. Thank you for the wasted 45 minutes of my life.

A second shout out: "Imma tell you one time" Justin Bieber. You know what? I'm not even ashamed. No, I'm not creepy. I'm just sayin'. The kid is absolutely adorable, he has perfect hair, AND he sounds the exact same on the radio as he does live. Gotta respect that. PLUS, he's actually hysterically funny. Example: Watch this. So basically, yes, I have Beiber Fever. Dont' judge me.

Random Tuesday

I am hurting for being right here (pictured above) right now. Vacation officially begins June 13th in the Lazy Parrot at Rosemary Beach and will continue until June 26th. Absolutely CANNOT wait. Granted I will be working on lesson plans on our screened in back porch for countless hours as I listen to the waves of the beach, but I'm okay with that I guess.

However, until then I will be settling for the Duck River this weekend. A little bit of a downgrade, but I'm pretty pumped about The Bad Ass Wheel Weekend at my sister's. Fal and KP will be in attendance to share the fun. Updates/pictures of this to come.

Another recent random development: I love cereal. For basically any meal. No certain kind. Just cereal in general.

Random Wednesday

I have yet to completely grasp the fact that my oldest niece is graduating high school on Friday. Not flippin' possible. Jordan has been my mini-me since I was six. Now that she's gotten older, she doesn't look as much like me, but we definitely can't deny each other. Also, "mini-me" doesn't really apply anymore considering she's 5'11. She has been a volleyball and basketball star throughout high school, and I'm ridiculously proud to call her 1 of mine. Nevertheless, she is heading off to UT Martin in the fall, and I think I am taking it harder than her parents. I'm a sucker for tradition, so I'm excited for Jordo to make her walk down the hill. We will all be celebrating Friday pre-graduation ceremony as a family, the big family that we are of course. I'll be an emotional wreck pretty sure, but I'll manage.

Everyone around me is so tired of hearing me talk about Sex and the City 2 coming out, but I can hardly contain my excitement! The BFF and I watched movie numero uno last night, and it never disappoints no matter how many times I watch it. I laugh, I cry, it's a roller coaster of emotion, and I love it. I can't wait to see what's in store with #2. I will probably be one of "those people" that go to see it at midnight, and I'm not a bit ashamed. What can I say? A story of true, hardcore friendship and love gets me every time.

New obsession: an Amazon Kindle electronic reader. I did not buy the first model because it doesn't have a backlight. However, the newest model does have a backlight and is new and improved. Thousands and thousands of books, magazines, and newspapers downloading in 60 seconds right at my fingertips. It gives me chills. Me+my new Kindle+ the beach for 2 weeks= absolute perfection. The Kindle part=doubtful, but wishful thinking is a strong suit of mine. Why is it doubtful? See blog titled Miss. Independent.

My Top 10 Obsessions at the Moment

#10. Coke Zero

#9. Holiday World. Explanation: we're taking our kids May 25th, and I LOVE amusement parks, so I am technically more excited than they are.

#8. Fossil watches. They're my drug of choice along with sunglasses. I need an intervention.

#7. The outdoor fire pit my bro recently constructed. It's small and inexpensive, but it has accounted for some good chats and good times. Unfortunately, it is at his house not mine.

#6. The J. Crew bathing suit shown. Need it in my life.

#5. MUSIC in general, but especially the following right now: Old school John Mayer (i.e. "Back to you," "Man on the Side," "Love Soon," and "Love Song for No one")

Angel Taylor (if you don't know her, iTunes her)

Lady Antebellum (I'm pretty sure their new CD was written for/about me)

The new Usher CD (don't judge.)

#4. The 11th grade English standards, which I will be eating, sleeping, and breathing until next Fall. 3 years of teaching=3 different classes/grades. Why would next year be any different?

#3. Since I have been teaching I have not had a ton of time for t.v. That has changed lately. The following shows and their characters have become a serious part of my life:

True Blood- don't.even.get.me.started. That is a whole blog in itself

Parenthood- even though I feel like a middle-aged soccer mom for liking it, I can't help it. Good, quality entertainment.

American Idol-duh?

Mercy-gotta give props to KP for bringing this into my life. However, SUPER po'ed about the season finale last night.

#2. The Sookie Stackhouse novels, the books that True Blood is based on. OMG. They are such a guilty pleasure, but I'm a pushover anyways.

#1. So cliche, but I am a sucker for quality time w/ those who know and love me these days. Friends, fam, co-workers, etc. Instead of a lot of going out, friends and I have been spending quite a bit of down time together just chatting and sorting out our lives :) Good times. Love these people.

This blog is making me realize how unnecessarily wordy I am. My students must hate me.