My Trip to Atlantic City, A Middleweight Championship Boxing Fight & My Awesome Autumn Package...All In One.

I'm sorry I've been a slacker blogger lately.

I have a reason.

This weekend, Matt & I were in Atlantic City, New Jersey for the Jermain Taylor / Kelly Pavlik boxing fight. Jermain's from Arkansas, so naturally, our TV station followed him.

Well, Matt followed him, along with one of our sports reporters.

I just tagged along for the free hotel room, free rental car, free food & free 10th row ringside seat to the fight.

I mean, wouldn't you?

All I had to pay for was my plane ticket.

I did the same thing when Matt got to go to Las Vegas in December 2005 for the re-match between Jermain Taylor & Bernard Hopkins.

Working in the media has its perks, I tell you.

Anyway, you can expect a whole post about this weekend, including the fight, Atlantic City & how it took me about 20 hours to get there, tomorrow.

For now, though, I FINALLY got my Awesome Autumn package in the mail!!

I say FINALLY because early last week I started getting worried that my package came while Matt & I were in South Padre Island & someone stole it off my porch.

But, nope.

It just took a little longer because it came from KUWAIT!! Brittny was my swap buddy this time around & she outdid herself. I got some really awesome (no pun intended) stuff.

So, what's in the box?

You'll have to wait until tomorrow because I am so tired, that if I don't go to bed RIGHT NOW, I will fall over.

Want To Hear Something Gross? **UPDATED!!**

**OK, so apparently, this is so gross, nobody wants to comment!!**

While I was scrapbooking tonight, a piece of hair fell out of my ponytail.

I reached up to tuck it back behind my right ear & I noticed the top of my ear felt really rough.

Thinking maybe it was a piece of dried glue (yeah, I know...gross...but, hey it happens), I picked it off.

But, then I felt a sort of wetness on my ear.

So, I ran my finger along the outside of my ear, from top to bottom.

The whole area was rough.

And, that's when I remembered that my ear got sunburned last week on the beach.

What I thought was dried glue was really my skin peeling.

Ew?

Well, no, not really.

In fact, I LOVE peeling skin.

That's my FAVORITE part about a sunburn.

So, I did what any person like me would do & I peeled the rest of my ear.

Matt hates it.

I like to peel him too, but he'll only let me do it like once or twice before it makes him want to throw up.

OK, so fess up...who else out there in blogging land likes to peel their sunburn?

What I Love About My DVR.

While on vacation last week, I set my DVR to record the following TV shows:

"The Young & The Restless"
"Days Of Our Lives"
"Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders"
"CMT Diary: Rascal Flatts"

For those of you who weren't Math majors, that's 11.5 hours of television.

Last night, I watched all 11.5 hours in about 3 hours.

Seriously.

OK, granted, I watched most of "Y & R" & "Days" on fast-forward. Because, let's face facts here folks, the same story lines can go on forever.

So, if you miss something important, you can watch it again in tomorrow's episode.

DVR, thanks for keeping me up to date on all my shows.

Please, please don't ever leave me.

Our 8 Day Vacation In Numbers...And, Pictures.

8 = days we were gone
$126 = dollars Matt's mom saved us by keeping Maisy at her house while we were gone
11 = hours we slept on our 1st night of vacation
5 = flights we took
5 = days we were on the beach in South Padre Island, Texas
3 = places on my body that sunburned
50 = mouthfuls of salt water (thanks, waves)
3 = miles we walked before we decided to rent a car in SPI
3 = number of times we packed & repacked our suitcases
4 = days we were in Dallas, Texas
6 = number of times we got lost in Dallas
$2.25 = dollar amount it took us to get anywhere on the tollway
1,000 = number of times Matt complained about paying money on the tollway
5 = hours we slept on our last night of vacation

Spending 8 days laughing with, talking to & being silly with my wonderful husband = PRICELESS

Population sign (duh)

View of the island from our shuttle

Me on the beach

Ahhhhh....the ocean

A cool shot of the waves coming in

Two very pretty seashells we found in the water (in case you're keeping score, I found the bigger one)

Matt had a "run in" with a sand crab

This bird spent about 30 minutes in the water, then got out to dry off

These seagulls followed us EVERYWHERE

Matt acting goofy

Me on the beach

The view from our room...it won't be "beach view" for long, especially when the new parking deck is built

Beer in a can

Beer in a can...again

Us at dinner

Us on the beach...might be this year's Christmas Card picture

Beer in a bottle

Me with a pirate

In Dallas now...Matt in our big, comfy bed

We spent Thursday night watching a Texas Rangers game

Us at the game

Ballpark sign

On Friday, we met up with an old friend of mine for lunch

Amy's sweet baby girl, Aubrey Cate

Later that night, we met Amy & her husband, Eric, for dessert

We also toured the JFK museum

This is the window where the gunman fired the shots at the President

This marks the gunshot that killed JFK

Matt's favorite store

Saturday before the wedding, we did a little shopping

Our 1st time in an IKEA

Us after the wedding

My friend, Lauren & her 1st dance with her husband

Lauren & Matt dancing

Me & Lauren

Us in our hotel room after the reception

My outfit...you'll notice that I'm wearing my flip flops...I changed into them after the wedding

A Little Update.

Hello, friends!

How are you?

I'm FANTASTIC!

I must apologize for not updating my blog sooner or commenting on your blogs lately...there IS a reason, but I can't tell you for a few more days! (And, NO, I'm not pregnant!).

Anyway, I wanted to update you on my Uncle's progress.

It's been almost 3 weeks since his stroke.

He's still in the hospital...but, was moved out of ICU last week, to a private room, where he's still getting 24 hour care...just not as monitored as ICU.

He has good days & bad days...on his good days, he will answer your questions pretty clearly & he'll sit in his wheelchair for up to 2 hours at a time. On his bad days, he won't even open his eyes when you talk to him.

Hopefully, he'll continue to get better & be able to go to this top-notch rehabilitation facility...where he'll be for a month or so.

We're hoping he'll be back home with my Aunt by the end of the year.

So, that's the latest on my end.

I promise to update you on everything else on Sunday!!

Get Your Christmas Orders in Now.

By now, most of you know I'm a "crafty" type girl.

I make note-cards & name frames (and just recently started making party invitations).

To see more of my work, just click on the link under "Check Me Out Here", to look at my designs blog.

I know it's hard to believe, but Christmas is about 3 & 1/2 months away. A set of note cards would make the perfect stocking stuffer & a frame would make a great "under the tree" present.

Because I already have 2 orders to complete for Christmas, I wanted to extend the invitation to all of you, to think about & decide if you'd like to place an order, too!

If not, that's totally okay. But, if you do, let me know as soon as possible, so that I can get to work on it & get it to you before Christmas.

Just send me an e-mail at rht02@sbcglobal.net if you're interested. Below, you'll find a price list.

Note Cards:
Set of 4: $10
Set of 8: $20
Set of 10: $25

Name Frames:
$40 dollars per frame

With the cards & frames, I can do any name, any theme or any colors. Just let me know!

You Know She Potty Trained Herself, Right?

My niece, Riley, is 2 & a half years old.

She'll be 3 at the end of February.

My sister's finding it very difficult to let Riley grow up because Riley's her baby. My sister let Riley drink from a bottle for way longer than normal & she hadn't planned on even introducing the potty for another 6 months or so.

Riley, however, had her own plans.

One day, about 6 or 7 weeks ago, my sister, Jackson & Riley were at Target buying some school stuff for Jack.

Somehow, Riley managed to find some "Dora" & "Elmo" panties & brought the packages to my sister & said "I want to wear Dora. I want to wear Elmo".

My sister, thinking Riley wouldn't do it, said that only girls who pee-pee in the potty, can wear big girl panties.

Riley said, "Then, I pee-pee in the potty!" & started walking towards the bathroom in Target.

My sister followed her, helped her into the stall & helped her get on the potty.

Riley did it. She pee-peed in the potty.

Then, she looked at my sister & said, "I put my Dora's on now!".

My sister couldn't believe it & reluctantly handed over the "Dora's".

In the days that followed, Riley continued to pee & poop in the potty. She wouldn't even tell my sister she had to go. She'd just get up from whatever she was doing & go to the bathroom by herself. When she was finished, she'd yell for my sister to come in & help her wash her hands.

With less than a handful of accidents, I'm pleased to say that Riley's completely potty-trained. She wears Pull-Ups at naptime & at night, but she wakes up dry pretty much all the time.

The cool thing about all of it, is that Riley basically potty-trained herself. I guess when she found out she could wear Dora & Elmo (2 of her favorite characters), it was incentive enough.

My other niece, Madeline (my sister-in-law's daughter) was potty trained pretty early...I think she was out of diapers before she was 2! Jackson was a little over 3 & my oldest niece, Suzanne, was 2 & 1/2 or 3! That means none of my babies wear diapers anymore! That makes me sad.

Or, maybe it just means I need to have my own baby!

Little Of This, Little Of That.

I AM LOVING ME SOME HIGH SPEED INTERNET!!

Ok, now that that's out of my system, lemme fill you in on what's been going on with my life over the past couple of days.

We got our high-speed modem in the mail last night. After finally getting it hooked up, I logged on to the internet & girls, I swear, I shed a tear.

It was awesome. The 1st thing I did was check all your blogs. The pages loaded within seconds. With dial-up, it took 5 to 10 minutes sometimes.

We ran into a problem, though, when we tried set up the wireless part, but $70 dollars & 24 hours later, it's fixed. We have officially moved up in the world.

******

SoapNet finally got a clue & moved "Days of Our Lives" back to the 10pm spot. Yes, Jenny, I am so happy! Except that I had kinda gotten hooked on "The Young & The Restless".

Thanks to my DVR, though, I am able to record "Y & R" every day & watch the episodes when I have time. "Days" has my undivided attention from 10-11pm each night.

*********

Matt got this really cute video of Maisy. He gave me permission to share it with you. But, a little background...Matt & I call Maisy, "Bubbas". I don't know how we came up with the nickname, but it stuck. So, that's what you hear him call her in the video.




Look on the left on my page & you'll see I've updated my "365 Blessings in 365 Days" sidebar.

Hmmmmmm, I feel like I have more to tell you, I just can't remember all of it right now. I should have made a list.

I'm forgetful at my old age.

A Little Explanation Please.

1st of all, girls, thanks for all your advice on what to wear / or what not to wear with the dress I got for my friend's wedding.

If you're just logging on, take a look at the previous post & give me your advice, too.

2nd of all, I noticed many of you said wearing a shoe with a small heel would "dress" it up. While I do agree, I guess I should have explained something before I asked your opinion.

Because of the injuries I suffered in a car accident 4 years ago (some of you know about it, some of you don't), my right ankle / foot doesn't flex, therefore I cannot wear heels.

Even little bitty kitten heels.

Can't do it.

I have tried, believe me, but I look REALLY STUPID trying to walk in heels. And, it's a real bummer too, because I have some REALLY CUTE Cole Hahn kitten heels that would look PERFECT with the dress.

While I was shopping for shoes the other day, I was getting really frustrated & I almost had myself convinced that I could wear the kitten heels to the wedding & bring some more comfortable ones with me, to change into for the reception.

But, when I told Matt my idea, he looked at me like I just told him I was going to run a marathon.

Just in case you're keeping score, I can't do that, either (thanks to the girl in the white car who hit our Jeep Cherokee & caused us to roll over 4 times...but, an even bigger thanks to the tree who stopped us from rolling a 5th time).

Anyway, while I'm sure you're not jealous of my inability to wear heels, I know you're going to wish you were me when I tell you that I have a pair of flip-flops in EVERY COLOR.

Because flat shoes, like flip flops or ballet flats, are the only things I can wear.

And, my husband did not argue with me last Winter when I bought 3 new pairs of ballet flats at a price of $75 dollars each because they were SO COMFORTABLE & I didn't feel like sawing my feet off at the end of the day, like I did with my other shoes.

Of course, that also means I'll be wearing those same shoes for the next 5 years because if I spend that much on some ballet flats again anytime soon, he'll ban me from the mall. Shudder.

So, now you know my dilemma, which I should have told you in the previous post.

After reading your comments, I think the "covered toe" shoe wins! Which is good because that pair was my favorite...& Matt's favorite, too.

As far as jewelry, I'll either wear the black beaded bracelet & find a matching necklace & earrings OR I'll find & buy a silver beaded bracelet, necklace & earrings, as someone (Mrs. M?) suggested.

I'll be sure to let you know what I end up doing.

P.S. About the car accident? Maybe one day, if I'm brave enough to pull out the pictures taken of the Jeep the day after the wreck, I'll scan one of them in & show you what was left of the car. If you didn't believe in Angels before, you will, after you see what Matt & I walked away from.

Do I Need a Necklace With This Dress?

I'm about to let you in on a little secret about myself.

Come real close to the screen so I can whisper it into your ear.

I SUCK AT ACCESSORIZING.

There I said it.

Whew.

Was that as good for you as it was for me?

So, now you know that I'm not perfect (yeah, it's a shock, I know), I really need your help.

I got this dress to wear to a 6pm wedding on September 22nd.

The fabric on the bust/chest area is gathered. And, I've heard/read that when there's detail up top, you don't need a necklace because it'll take the attention away from the dress.

But, this IS a wedding, so I feel like I need to "dress it up", you know?

So, if you think I need a necklace, what kind? A simple strand of black beads?

I already have a black bead bracelet...the beads start out small on either side of the clasp & then get bigger towards the middle. Not too dressy, but dressy enough, I think.

I also bought a cute black clutch purse to carry with me. $4.95 at JCPenney's.

OK, so ponder these things for a moment & then take a look at 2 pairs of shoes I bought yesterday at Dillards. Both are contenders to wear with the dress.

The 1st pair I got for $14.75 & the 2nd pair was $12.25.

Do you favor one pair over the other? Neither? Both?

So as to not sway your decision, I'm not going to tell you my favorite or Matt's favorite.

But, again, keep in mind it's a 6pm wedding in 2 weeks, so it'll still be warm outside.

I'll be waiting to hear what you think.

Be honest.

Goodbye, Dial Up. Hello, High Speed Internet.

Finally.

FINALLY.

Ya'll, it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

I pulled into my driveway tonight & saw a flier on our front door.

After getting the mail, I walked up to the door to get the flier & that's when I saw it.

The big AT&T logo.

I let out a little gasp.

Could THIS be what we've been waiting on for 3 ENTIRE YEARS?

I held my breath as I pulled the flier from the door handle.

I slowly turned it over.

And, there it was.

The 4 most beautiful words.

"YOUR WAIT IS OVER!"

(Omigod, Omigod, Omigod).

Just below that, it read...

"HIGH SPEED INTERNET IS NOW AVAILABLE IN YOUR AREA!"

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

I did a little happy dance right there in my front yard.

I think I might have even shed a tear.

PEOPLE, WE'VE BEEN WAITING THREE YEARS FOR HIGH SPEED INTERNET.

3 years.

When we moved into our house, our neighborhood was still fairly new. Our house & about 10 others were the only ones built. DSL internet just hadn't made it out to our area.

But, as more & more houses started popping up, Matt & I just knew it'd be a matter of months before AT&T expanded their services to us.

Until then, we had to use Dial Up. (DSL through cable wasn't even an option because cable isn't available in our area).

Earlier this year, our neighborhood started "Phase 2" & 2 new subdivisions down the road from us were created. With all this growth, we had convinced ourselves DSL would be available before the summer.

WRONG.

We even called AT&T every now & then, to ask them when it would be available.

Soon, we were told.

So, back to waiting patiently we went.

UNTIL TODAY!!!

When the most beautiful flier was placed on our door.

I think I might frame it.

Honestly, I really didn't expect to be so excited about this, but I am. I guess because now it won't take 2 hours to load 1 picture. And, I won't get kicked off, every time someone calls us.

As soon as I got inside the house, I called Matt & told him the good news.

He screamed.

He was so excited.

I got on AT&T's website & picked out 2 Internet packages that I want Matt to look at & decide which one he thinks we need. One is $19.99 a month. The other is $24.99 a month.

Of course, AT&T's sales office closed at 7pm. 20 minutes AFTER I got home.

They open at 8am tomorrow morning. Guess who'll be their 1st caller?

Do I really have to tell you who?

After I upgrade, Matt & I are going to go buy a wireless router & come back home & set it all up.

Hopefully, by this time tomorrow night, I'll be coming to you via HIGH SPEED INTERNET.

I mean, really, have you ever seen a girl so excited for some DSL?

Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

Are YOU Ready For Some Football?

Well?

Are you?

I am.

As I type this post, the 1st game of the NFL regular season is just minutes away from kick-off. It's the Colts against the Saints.

I'm a part of a Fantasy Football league at my office.

We drafted our players like 2 weeks ago. It took 2 hours.

My team name?

Big Scrappin'.

Yeah, I know. That name sucks.

Ya'll, I swear, I can NEVER come up with cute team names. EVER.

A guy at work named his team, "Vicks Convicks".

How cool is that name? It even rhymes.

Maybe I'll try to think of a new name.

Any suggestions?

My favorite part of my team?

Matt Jones.

He's a WR for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

He used to be the QB for the Arkansas Razorbacks.

That's when my love for him began.

I even met him once. He was signing autographs during an arena football game a few years ago & I had him sign my football jersey with his player number on it. He also signed a football.

I also have a Jaguars jersey with his number on it.

Matt (my husband) says for $1,000,000, he "sell" me to Matt (Jones).

I don't believe him, though.

I mean, he wouldn't do that.

Would he?

I can only dream. (Just kidding).

If you'll excuse me, I'd like to go watch the game.

I LOVE football season!

365 Blessings In 365 Days.

You know, I have SO MANY things in my life that I'm thankful for.

From Matt & Maisy to my family, to my job & my house.

I could go on & on.

And, I will.

With something I'm calling "365 Blessings in 365 Days."

I have to say, though, that I kind of got the idea from Carrie's blog. I think she's on number 50.

Since it's my game, I get to make all the rules.

Every day, for the next year, I have to write down at least ONE blessing. I can write down more for any given day, but I will put special emphasis on the top blessing.

And, because I realize that could get old really easy for my blog readers & because sometimes I just don't have time to update my blog, I'll post my blessings for the week on Sunday.

For those of you who didn't major in Math, that's 7 blessings (at least).

I challenge you, my dear blogging friends, to do the same. Feel free to make your own rules...whatever you're comfortable with. And, if you start counting your blessings, let me know because starting tomorrow (hopefully), I'll have a new sidebar thingy about my goal. I'll put a link to your blog underneath.

I know it's not Sunday, but like I said, it's my game, I make the rules, I'm going to start counting my blessings today.

MY TOP BLESSING:

Rain

WHY?

Because we haven't had rain since July 30th. Our grass was dying & the trees had started shedding their leaves because it was so dry. Plus, the rain cooled things down a bit.

OTHER BLESSINGS:

a clean house

dinner with my husband

my niece, Riley, telling me she loves me

an e-mail from my Aunt saying that my Uncle is improving

So, what are you thankful for? What are your daily blessings? If you'd like to share, I'd love to hear about them!

In The Midst Of All The Stress, A Little Fun Was Had.

Of course, I hate to use the word "fun", when talking about this past weekend (see posts below), but, having Jackson, Riley & our cousin, Ty, there with us, helped relive some of the stress.

Ty & Riley coloring on the floor of the ICU waiting room. Riley's cheesing it up!

Fun with bubbles!! One of my Uncle's visitors brought the kids bubbles to help keep them occupied.

Riley's "coloring" my sister's face.

Jackson was SO busy getting attention from our relatives, that he could only pause in mid-run for me to take his picture. By the way, he LOVES Kindergarten.

Cousin Ty: Cute as a bug!

Riley with a cracker sticking out of her mouth. I did her braids. What do you think?

"Hey! It's MY turn to take a picture!"

Even 5 year old football players have to take a rest every now & then.

In other news, my Uncle said "I love you, too" today to my Aunt. And, he told her he wanted to get "out of here".

However, he's been trying to pull out his IV & feeding tube, so the nurse had to put some kind of mitt on his left hand to keep him from doing that.

Thanks, again, to those of you who've been praying for him & my family. I think now the big hurdle is helping him calm down, so he won't be so agitated.

********

Stay tuned tomorrow to read about something new I'm doing: 365 Blessings in 365 Days.