"I don't care where I go when I'm with you ..."

Back home, and back to routine ...

My weekend in Wilmington was so nice. The drive ended up being not as dreary and long as I remembered from six months ago. In fact, since I didn't make any stops, I was there in about 4-and-a-half hours. Not bad.

I had some long-distance drama on my first night there, after hearing from Sister Kay that our Mom was having a medical emergency, vomiting and feeling faint. I was on and off the phone with both sisters until after 2 AM, when they were all headed home from the ER. Mother had a UTI and was low on potassium. And now all is well, except in Mother's words, she feels "weak as a dishrag."

On Saturday, we got out the door to a grand opening of a Verizon store there in Wilmington, where we snacked on chicken nuggets, registered for a free Wii, and picked out new cell phones. I seriously can't believe I put up with that damn Chocolate phone for two years. What a pain in the ass. Anyway, I love my new phone, so far. I copied Adam and Brandy and got the LG enV. More than I really need, I suppose, since I didn't opt for the Internet, and I don't text message enough to even pay for the text package ... but it feels good in my hand, and I like having a real live keyboard for those seven texts a month that I DO send out.

We went to lunch at a place called Fat Tony's. (I think.) It smelled like really old cigarette smoke (in a way that was NOT unpleasant to me) and the food was REALLY tasty.

Here's a good picture of my host and hostess before we ate ...

The remainder of Saturday was: hanging out, looking at the houses up and down Wrightsville Beach (it was raining and cold, so no beach combing), and a little shopping. Jud had to go into work for a bit, and Emilie napped ... and then the torture began. For Christmas, Emilie gave Jud Rock Band (edited to add: Emilie tells me it's not Rock Band, it's Guitar Hero World Tour) for his XBox, and on Saturday night they FORCED me to play it with them. With Jud on the drums, Em on guitar, and me on vocals ... try to imagine the caterwauling the neighbors heard. Oy. I can only imagine how bad I sounded, but I guess the wine I was drinking dulled my hearing a bit. Because I KEPT singing. It was lots of fun, and lots of embarrassing.

On Sunday the rain was gone, so they decided to take me to Bald Head Island for a few hours. We bundled up and before I knew it, we were on a ferry boat. I never knew this place existed until Em told me about it last year. From the website:

"Amid Bald Head Island's 12,000 acres, you'll find 10,000 untouched acres of beach, marsh and maritime forest preserves. The intimate neighborhoods dotting the landscape rise gently and seamlessly, as if Nature herself had a hand in their development. Bald Head Island is a two-mile journey across the Cape Fear River from Southport, North Carolina. Appropriately, you can reach the island only by boat – a transition that prepares you for a place strikingly different from the one you left behind.

When you board the passenger ferry for the 20-minute ride to Bald Head Island, you leave your car behind — along with the stress of everyday life. Transportation on the island is limited to golf carts, bikes, skates and well-worn walking shoes...an accurate reflection of the slower, more relaxed island attitude."

SO. Now I know where I'll build my house after I win the lottery. I LOVED THIS PLACE!

Here's "Old Baldy", the lighthouse on the island ...

I don't think I've EVER been on a beach alone ... not one other person in sight. I know, I know, it's January. (And it was so crazy cold out there!) But the cold and wind could not distract from the incredible beauty of this sight ...

This is before we got as cold as we were gonna get. I know this because the sun is still shining in the picture. After awhile, the clouds got thicker and we we shivering ...

I drove home last night ... again with the no-stops, 4-and-a-half hour trip ... and send my "Thanks for the memories" to Em and Jud. I won't wait another six months before I visit again.

"I couldn't live without your love ..."

I've had a slight cold. Not enough to make things horrible, just enough to make me feel as if I'm underwater with weights attached. You know the feeling. Eh.

We had Miss Squish overnight last Friday, which was a real treat for Jimmy especially, considering he was home from Puerto Rico and all. Not to minimize the treat it was for ME.

-----

This week has been a quiet one. (See above: underwater.) I'm trying to get myself organized to get outta town in the morning ... headed to Wilmington NC to visit Em and Jud for the weekend. Should be nice to get out of here for a minute.

-----

Did you watch the Inauguration? I cried. I think I may even have a crush on Barack Obama. Heh.

-----

Here's a few pitiful pictures and some dark and feedbacky videos from "Thursday Afternoon With Nana", just to keep Jimmy from exploding. She was sooo sleepy, and had a really runny nose ... but we had fun anyway. (Yes, that's ANOTHER bruise on the same spot on her forehead.)

Rocking in the big chair, trying to stay awake:

Concentrating and learning:

And finally, a video from last Saturday morning. It's far too long, and I had intended to learn to edit, and cut it halfway through. But I didn't. So anyway, here's a good example of what it's like to have a conversation with The Squish.

She was finishing up breakfast ... she loves to put her feet up on the tray of the highchair as she gets full. (The girl knows how to relax.) Jimmy and I were amused (you can tell because we laugh) at the end when she started mugging for Papa ...

"And I laugh at myself while the tears roll down ..."

From Thursday afternoon, for Papa ...

My first attempt at taking a video with my camera, and posting one online, as well ... it took forever to load using Blogger, so I may play around with YouTube later when I have time. The video isn't that great, and while she was fascinated with the book when she found it, you can see from her reaction that it just wasn't that good a read.

Today includes bill-payng, a trip to Publix for baby-eats, since she will be spending the night here tomorrow night (yay!), and hopefully a trip to the consignment store to make a drop-off. I am SO looking forward to tonight ... a Girls Night Out (or In?) at Kathy's ... it's been long while since I've seen everybody. I may have to volunteer to be the designated driver, should we decide to take the show on the road though ... wine hasn't been my friend lately. Bah!

"It's all love and good times ..."

It's been so long I don't even know where to begin. Besides that, there's only a couple people out there that even still check in here. So, heyyy you two!

As you well know, my Decembers are usually chock-full of activity, what with the decorating, cooking, and visitors. This past one was no different. Only it might have been a little bit busier. So this blog ... which was already being treated like the redheaded stepchild around here by me ... well, it just fell by the wayside. Lowest priority and all that.

December is quite over.

Happy 2009! I would like to say I'll make a concerted effort to get some regularity back to my posting here. I say that because I know my daughter, all the way off in Wilmington, would like to see an occasional update from home. And now Jimmy is off in Puerto Rico, and he has made it perfectly clear that the ONLY thing he'll miss here in Greenville is our Miss Squish. But still, I bet he'll check here every once in a while for a new photo. So I have a little motivation.

Motivation, I've got. Stuff to write about, not so much. But let's give a December recap a whirl.
The holidays were a whirlwind, as always. But they seemed to include a little bit less stress than in years past. Don't know why. But I did enjoy the majority of December. Yay! (I'm sure my sister-in-law would say "Ahem!" at this point, since my one contact with her was an emergency phone call in tears, needing emotional support to make it through the next hour. Thanks, Patti. xo)

I drove to GA mid-month to get my Mom, for her annual visit ... and spent the night with Laura, Melody, and Baby Etta. Oh Lord, that girl is sweetness!





Back to Greenville, we shuttled Jimmy to the airport for a week in Puerto Rico. We finished shopping, wrapping, and ... uh, I can't remember what else we did that week. On the 18th, Jimmy came home, and that night we got a special visitor. Squish arrived for a special visit while her Mom and Dad took off for Las Vegas. (Their trip is detailed over at Fat Cats Rock, along with better Christmas pictures ... my camera sucks all of a sudden!)

I have to say that Squish's visit WAS my Christmas present. The kids could totally have saved the money they spent on my KitchenAid hand mixer. Because that time in December, when she was here for 4 days, was WONDERFUL! We played, we napped, we made a trip to the mall for new shoes ... and we kissed a lot.

She loved to put Papa's reading glasses on and look cute:


Then she discovered the joy that is wearing Papa's hat:




We played some Peek-A-Boo:


A few hours after her Mom and Dad returned and whisked her back home again, my 2nd round of Christmas visitors arrived ... Sister Kay and Beth on Monday night, Emilie and Allie on Tuesday night, and Josh on Christmas Eve:





It wasn't Christmas for me until THIS came walking in on Christmas night:



Aunt Emilie loves this girl so much ... enough to put up with the Nose-Lovin'. And that stuff HURTS:


Squish came back on the Saturday after Christmas to help say goodbye to all our visitors from Georgia ... and to lay some love on Maggie The Cat. Maggie barely tolerates it, but sometimes I wonder if THIS is the reason Squish likes to come to our house:



Another Spend-The-Night party at Nana and Papa's on New Year's Eve, and thank God. SOMEBODY had to provide the entertainment on New Year's Day during Clemson's terrible performance at the Gator Bowl:

Finally, a smile from Saturday night (1/3/09):

(Now I can say that my MAIN motivation for updating here more often will be so that I never have to include a month's worth of pictures again. Could Blogger make it MORE frustrating to add pictures? I think not.)

"Then I take a nap ..."

Scenes From Thanksgiving 2008:

Chaos In The Kitchen

"Oooh, there's Daddy with the camera! Pick me up, Daddy!"

"Pick me upppppp!"

"OK, crying didn't work ... on to Plan B. "

"Hi Daddy!"
"Never mind. Nana'll do it."

Thankful.

"Thankful for the moment ..."

It's been a little crazy. Trust me.

-----

Just in time for Thanksgiving, I'm here with a list of some of the things for which I am thankful. My list is totally random and is subject to change at any moment.

Wanna hear it? Here it goes:

~ Family ... that one goes without saying.

~ My health ... so dear these days, now that I'm a Grandma. And considering the sounds of the coughing from downstairs (Jimmy has pneumonia and an almost-eardrum-rupturing ear infection), I am noting each hour that I feel great.

~ Gasoline that costs $1.69 a gallon at Costco.

~ Precious Squish, who means more to me with each passing day.

~ Wine. Most especially Pinot Grigio. Or whatever's in the box in the refrigerator.

~ Our home. For all my complaining and wanting it all to be new and pretty, I'm aware that I am safe and warm and dry every night of my life. Quite comfortable, even! (But really ... the stove and the kitchen floor have got to go.)

~ The beach. Haven't laid eyes on one since late July, but I know they're still there, waiting for me.
~ My crazy plan to "take a little class at Greenville Tech" is finally coming to an end tonight!
~ Chocolate.

~ Friendly friends, even though it's been too long since I've seen a single one of those beetches.

~ A new (upscale! LahDeDah) Wal-mart, almost next door. Yay, traffic!

~ A space heater that blasts the Heat of Hell right here next to my feet as I waste time on the Internet every day.
~ Speaking of the Internet, thank you, Al Gore. I'll be doing a lot of my Christmas shopping right here with my space heater.

~ Music. What would life be without a soundtrack? (And really, you haven't heard good music until you've heard the Squishy one sing "up above the world so high".)

~ I'm REALLY thankful that I can finally replace my aggravating "Chocolate" cell phone in February.

~ My bed. Seriously, I love it. And I'm thankful for the 600-thread count 100% cotton sheets, and the down comforter, too.
~ Did I mention my family? My kids, my husband, my granddaughter, my sisters, my mother, my in-laws, my nieces, and my nephews ... they are everything to me.

-----

Are you still out there? Let me know by leaving a comment, telling me what you're most thankful for this week!

"What a difference a day makes ..."

On this day, last year, change came to our family ...

This is what change looks like now ...

(Pardon the blurriness of the last picture. She won't stay still long enough to get a clear shot.)

Her gift to me this week has been the presence of her company for 3 days instead of our usual one afternoon. Too sick to do daycare, she came and enjoyed Nana's rocking chair for a couple of days. And yesterday, I got to go along as she had her "One Year" portraits taken, and then had the rest of the day to watch her run around here.

I've started calling her our "Demolition Derby Girl" because ... well, because that's how she rolls. No fear.

Change may have come to America this week, but change came to my house on November 7, 2007.

Happy Birthday, My Squish. I love you!

"Steady on ..."

For real.

And besides, there's no pleasant way for me to discuss the horrendous Clemson - Wake Forest game last night. Ugh.

I did survive my final exam. And I have to go BACK to class on Monday to pick up my packet for my two weeks of clinicals. Still don't know where I'll be assigned.

More fun for next week: Engineer's Poker at my house. Jimmy won last month's game, so yay. I'll be cleaning the house, making lasagna, and then watching TV in my bedroom until the festivities end, promptly at 10 PM.

TGIF.

"No little girl can stop her world to wait for me ..."

Seriously, I can hardly believe that today marks the 11th month since Miss Squish arrived on the scene. She's packed a lot of growing into those short 11 months, no?

(The picture above was taken on Friday, October 3rd. She was all smiles for her Aunt Patti, Uncle Michael, and Cousin Hallie.)

I totally enjoyed last weekend with our visitors from the south. We hiked around downtown Greenville all afternoon on Saturday, and then rewarded ourselves with beer (wine for me), and fried stuff from Liberty Tap Room. I wish they would come and visit more often ... maybe if I fed 'em better, they might consider it.

-----

So my class is winding down. Tomorrow night is the big (open book) final exam. I know, I know. Open book, how hard could it possibly be? To tell you the truth, I've been studying a lot. The book is full of stuff that confuses me.

We have one week "off", then for the last two weeks of October I'll be spending my days in an ophthalmologist's office ... hopefully just "observing". I don't feel ready to actually touch a patient. I mean it.

On November 5th, we'll have a little graduation ceremony, and the the week after that, I'll start a quick review class for 8 nights. It makes no sense to me either. But they stressed that it was important. So I'll be there.

Last night, we had a little party to celebrate the fact that we all survived the 10-week class. And I got surprised with gifts. Apparently I was the only one of the 16 of us that made 100 on each and every test we took. (We had a test almost every class.) One of the instructors made me a crown with eyeballs. And I wore it, too. (For a minute or two.)

And one of my classmates made a little cake for me! Is that cute, or what? They really surprised me, and made me smile.

-----


I lost my voice on Saturday, and it's still not to be found.


-----


The last update I had from Georgia about New Baby Etta said that everything was going well. Melody got to go home on Friday, and Etta is still hanging out with the nurses at the hospital. She's eating like a Stark and no longer under the jaundice lamp. I know it won't be long before she's home with her two Moms and partying all night long.


-----


One more picture of Squish, just for Auntie Em who misses her so much. This was taken last Thursday, October 2nd, on the swings at the neighborhood park. Swingin's one of her favorite things!

(I don't think that the elephant on her shirt necessarily means she's endorsing McCain. She's not sayin', one way or the other.)

"Isn't she lovely, isn't she wonderful? ..."

What a whirlwind our life has been since ... oh, I don't know, 2007? Seriously though, this last weekend was keerazy.

I was all prepared to go and host the games portion of Melody's baby shower on Saturday afternoon. We packed up, and were heading out to Georgia on Friday morning, when Laura called to tell us Mel had been admitted to a tiny little hospital in Podunk Alabama (where their doc normally delivers). The bed rest wasn't doing the trick, and her urine protein levels had shot up overnight. Her doctor was on the ball, and that's a good thing.

We went on down, and really enjoyed our time there. Squish came with her Mom and Dad, to provide the entertainment for the weekend, and let me tell you, she earned her paycheck! She couldn't have been sweeter and more fun if she tried.

Here's Squish sitting in her new favorite chair at Grandma's house:

And here she is, trying to decide whether to answer her cell phone,

or listen to Grandma read a story:

Jimmy and his brother Michael spent a good portion of Friday evening moving furniture for my mom. And you know that any time spent moving furniture means beer must be consumed. Only Jimmy chose to drink some 40-year-old homemade wine he found at my Uncle's house as they loaded the furniture to be moved. I think it was supposed to be red, but it wasn't. It was muddy brown, and smelled like poisonous death in a bottle. Jimmy loved it. And he lived, too.

On Saturday afternoon, we loaded up our baby gifts and drove to Podunk Alabama, where Melody and Laura were holding court in a teeny hospital room.

We visited as long as we could, and Squish got reacquainted with her Great Aunt Laura:

After we said our goodbyes, the real party started. Mel's protein shot up once again, and her doctor rang the alarm. She was to be transported to the big neonatal unit at a hospital in Columbus GA. Stat. Thank Jeebus.

Frances and I went for a visit there on Sunday afternoon, and while I was thrilled to see them in a much nicer facility, I was worried. Mel looked worn out, and so did Laura.

Jimmy and I drove back home Sunday night (after stopping for a quick picnic at West Point Lake with Michael, Patti, & family) to begin a new week, with exhaustion in our bones.

At 1:22 AM today, my phone rang. Laura was calling to say they'd have a baby within the hour. The baby's heart rate was dropping, so the doctor said, "Now!" And at 2:22 AM, she was born. She's the tiniest baby ... only 2 pounds, 13 ounces, and 14.25 inches long. But she's breathing on her own, crying, and looking around. Her name is Etta Jayne. And I'm her Aunt Dawn. Hee!

I feel so much happiness for this new family.

Isn't she lovely?

"That little spot on the ground is my hometown ..."

Look, I'm flying an airplane!

Not really ... he was doing all the work.

And I was glad of it too. Look at all that:

This is downtown Greenville,
and I know this because the pilot told me so.

It's Death Valley! (I knew this all by myself.)

I was trying to get a shot of Tillman Hall on the Clemson campus,

and I did. Sort of.
Is that it in the lower left corner?

Lake Keowee ...
where do all those people with the fancy lake houses and boats get their money?

(I'm buying a lottery ticket today.)

This is a scary black-haired lady with her pilot-son.
She's pretty proud.

Thanks Adam. I will always remember yesterday morning. I've added it to the multitude of happy memories of you I store in my heart. In fact, I'm putting it right next to the memory of you, in the driveway at about 2 years old, pointing excitedly into the air, saying, "Heh-cop-er! Heh-cop-er!"

I'm a lucky mom.

-----

So, yeah ... black hair. I was worried that I might scare Miss Squish yesterday, but she didn't seem to notice. She's got good social skills already.

I've had highlights all summer long, and this week I decided I'd tell the hair girl to put me back darker again. Wow. She follows instructions too well. My hair is solid black. Almost blue. And she cut the living daylights out of it too. I look ridiculous. This was at a salon with a great reputation too ... with the reputable prices, as well.

Seriously, I cried. And I spent the entire first day in the shower, trying to wash it out. No luck. Since then, I've pulled it away from my face with a hairband, and pretended I was one of those crazy old ladies who think they look young with blue-black hair. *whimper*

Today, I will try again at yet another "reputable" salon. Please send me some good hair vibes. I have to go out in public again next week.

-----

This weekend, I'll be working on my resume. We have to submit them to the instructor for approval next week. It might take me all weekend to try to make my sketchy work history seem like a good thing to a potential employer. I'll take some happy vibes in that department too.

We also have the big "Medical Terminology" test on Tuesday next week. And it's not open book. We did play a review game last week, split into two teams ... and my team won. The prize was an extra five points on the test. Score!

-----

Speaking of good vibes, I'm using all mine up by sending some to Brandy's Pawpaw (Adam's & Squish's, too) who is in the hospital, dealing with some rough times. He's such a sweet man, and I send love to everybody who is worried about him.

Also, to Sisters Melody and Laura ... Mel was put on bedrest this week, due to some high blood pressure and stuff. I know they're scared, but I have every confidence that they will have a happy ending, just like I did with the whole pre-eclampsia thing when I was pregnant with Adam. Love , love, love ... to all three of you.

-----

And the walking begins ...

There's a video of some of her first steps over at her Daddy's blog, if you want to see the momentous stuff in my life these days.

September 14, 2008

This is her "sleepy face", which totally turns me to mush.

She spent last Saturday night at our house, and I took this just after she woke up.

(She's sitting on the hearth, which I finally covered with an old comforter to lessen the chances of a trip to the ER.)

Yesterday 9/18/08

See? She wasn't scared of Black-Haired Nana.
And finally ... her new face, guaranteed to get her anything she wants.

She does this randomly, and I think it's the cutest damn thing ever!

-----

If anybody knows how to fix the Blogger glitches that plague me to death every time I add a picture to my page here, I hope you'll share the knowledge. When I add pictures, my spacing goes to hell. My paragraphs are gone, and no matter how many times I try to edit and put them back, when I click "publish", everything is all smooshed together again.

Also, why are some pictures "clickable", meaning you can click to see a larger version ... and some aren't? I have looked and LOOKED to find a way to solve these issues, and Blogger won't cooperate. The bastard.

Maybe this means I'm too stoopid to have a blog.

Hush, you.