I'm Kinda LOST

Ok, I was able (thanks to the good ole DVR) to watch LOST tonight after the girls went to bed. I'd like to pause for a moment and give the inventors of the DVR a handclap and a fist pump. You have changed my TV watching life.

Ahem.

I'll admit, that there was a lot of "whats" and "huhs" muttered around here. I mean they have now taken what was already a confusing show and have added TIME TRAVEL to it. You know, because we also should have to think about the year and date and the city and the country while we juggle smoke monsters and polar bears and horses in the jungle and disappearing islands in our minds.

I'm not sure I'm that smart. I have noticed a significant headache since I watched LOST tonight. It's either that or the ridiculous head cold I'm sportin' right now.

Anyhoo, here are some of my favorite parts / "huh?" moments.

1. Hurley. I heart him. I love when he was sitting on the boat and they were asking him to lie and he started talking about what they should tell people. Then he said the island disappeared. "Blip." I cracked up.

2. Ben Linus. THE MAN DOESN'T BLINK. That's just weird. Good for Hurley not trusting him. However, he's now in the pokey, so how's he supposed to go back to the invisible island that is stuck in a time warp?

3. Daniel. I didn't particularly like him last season. But I think he might be one of my faves this season. He's got the whole thing figured out. Now if he'd just share his knowledge with, oh, say, me. I'd appreciate it.

4. Sayid killed a dude on a dishwasher. That was flat out skillz right there.

5. I can't figure out the Kate/Aaron/lawyers who want to take her blood scenario. Who are these people and who are sending them?

6. Sun creeped me out tonight. I think she's gonna end up a bad guy working for Whidmore. Mark my words. And I seriously doubt Jin is dead. Or Claire.

7. Shannon made a good point tonight about the creepy white haired woman slash witch slash woman in the dungeon with the computer and the swinging pendulum thingy being Daniel's mom. I don't think it is, because Daniel told Desmond that his mom was at Oxford in England and this lady was in LA? Isn't that where Hurley's parents live? Am I confused?

Probably. For all I know, the LOST creators time warped England to LA and gave Ben special powers to travel between the two places in nanoseconds.

What I DO know is that I'll definitely be tuned in next week. Because it's awesome.

What are your thoughts? What did ya think about tonight's show?

This Historic Day

I, of course, like many of you, am glued to the TV this morning. Every channel except Noggin (and I totally expect it to go there, too) is broadcasting the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

Of course, I have some stuff to say about this day.

I know. Shocker.

First, the crowds in Washington are simply mind boggling. I know MANY people who are there - both Republican and Democrat. And I can't help but feel a little jealous because it's so unbelievably historic. But I'm pretty sure that I'm glad to be here in my warm house since I just checked the weather forecast for DC and it's a balmy 23 degrees there. Mercy.

Second, Michelle Obama's gold dress is absolutely fabulous. And age appropriate. And First Lady-ish. And designed by a no name designer (which is my favorite part). No Vera Wang or Carolina Herrera for her. In fact, I don't even know the lady's name who designed her dress. But I DO know that her business just took off.

Third, did you see Michelle Obama give a gift to Laura Bush when the Obamas got to the White House this morning? This Southern Girl was impressed. Nice touch, Michelle. And then W held Michelle's hand as they walked inside. Presh.

Fourth, as much as I am intrigued with all the history that we are watching today, I still can't help but wish that we were celebrating another historical moment with the first ever female VP. However, we can't dwell on the past. Beth Moore so appropriately wrote a post on her blog this morning about where our hearts and attitudes should be regarding our new President. It's definitely worth reading.

Fifth, I am in the wonderful position of trying to keep Mary Emma from being overly jealous that the Obama girls got to go on stage with the Jonas Brothers. Sheesh.

Sixth, I grew up in Montgomery, AL. Which, if you'll refer back to 10th grade US History, was the epicenter of the Civil Rights Movement. Names like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks and George Wallace (who was actually my NEIGHBOR) were commonly spoken. MLK's church was less than a mile from my church. I ate lunch at the table next to George Wallace many many times. I have driven the historic Highway 80 from Selma to Montgomery and crossed the Edmund Pettis Bridge more times than I can count. Believe me, I know the story. But I don't get it. I can't possibly REALLY get it. I am a white girl who was born in the 70s. I wasn't alive during the Civil Rights Movement. I've seen the symbols of it: the museums, the monuments, the statues. But I can't relate to it. However, this morning, as I watched the broadcast of the events in Washington, I saw an elderly black man, in a wheelchair, all bundled up with blankets and coats and a hat. And I realized the importance of today to that man. He gets it. This man has probably been a part of the history that I have only read about. He was most likely denied the right to vote at one point in his life. His parents and grandparents have probably endured more hardships than I will ever comprehend. I'll bet the fact that he is sitting in the cold to watch a black man sworn in as the 44th President of the United States is something he never thought he'd see in his lifetime. The history is overwhelming. And I am so glad to be a witness to it.

We Have "Hydrangeas!!"

Y'all will not believe this. Seriously. It is snowing down here in the Heart of Dixie.

Now by "snow" I mean about 15 flurries, but if you don't think we didn't bundle up in 47 layers of our warmest clothes and go play in it, you are crazy, my friend.

Then after about 15 minutes of "is this all there is?" and "mommy, I can't even catch the snow on my tongue" kinds of comments, I brought my frozen children inside for a fabulous snack of Goldfish.

And the best part is, the weather people didn't even predict this one. We were totally surprised.

Thank you, Dear Lord, for the snow. We loved it. And I, particularly, appreciate it more today because the kids were already home due to a holiday. Let the regularly scheduled school day tomorrow commence. Mama needs a break from All The Inside Playing because of the cold weather.

Amen.

Update, et al.....

Yo, peeps. Happy Saturday night. We just had a fantastic steak dinner cooked by Spencer on the Big Green Egg. We were joined by my in-laws (shout out to Nam & Pop) and our dear friend, Bobby. It was a good night.

Potty training update - Tait has it clinched. She's rocking the house. We have had 1 accident in 3 days. Today she wore Daisy Duck panties and told me that Daisy will be sad if she tee teed on her. Hey, whatever works, right? I am still putting her in pull-ups for nap and bedtime, but today she woke up from her nap dry. A few more days of that and we'll try panties at nap. And the most exciting part? Are you ready? (I will go ahead and apologize to those of you who haven't gone through this - you won't fully appreciate what I'm about to tell you....) Tait pooped in the potty. 3 times. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?! She has been absolutely terrified of pooping in the potty. But yesterday, she conquered the fear and hasn't looked back. I'm so stinking proud of her! She's proud of herself, too.
As for Camille? Nope. Nada. Nothing. The potty is NOT her friend. We're in for a long one where she's concerned, I'm afraid.

We're attempting church tomorrow, which means we're attempting to put Camille in the nursery. This has not been a pretty scene in the past. I'll letcha know how it goes. I'm fully prepared to spend the service in the lobby. Just keepin it real, yo. (Do you like the way I kinda went a little Jenny from the Block on you there? Seriously, who am I?)

Back to the Big Green Egg I mentioned at the beginning of this post. If y'all have never eaten food from a Big Green Egg, you are seriously missing out. It cooks the most fantastic food. Tonight we had steaks. We have also cooked sausage, ribs, fish, burgers, hot dogs, drunk chicken (whole chicken with the beer can in it...yum), pizza (when the flame is low and the Egg is hot, it cooks like a brick oven), ham, Boston Butt, kabobs, veggies, ... the list goes on. It is easy to use (I even use it by myself when Spencer's out of town) and the food is amazing. I gave it to Spencer for our 10th anniversary, which was a year ago, and we haven't even taken the cover off of our old grill since then.

Ok, well Spencer's home and he's back to his Guitar Hero Addiction. I guess I should get off Ye Olde Blog and watch him play.

Peace out, bloggy peeps.

Oh, and super importantly, please pray for Scott and Kelly and their newborn daughter Harper. She was born yesterday and is having some pretty significant breathing issues that might get her put on ECMO. It's even more of a shock to them since they had no idea that anything was wrong and were fully expecting a healthy baby girl. Having been through the whole NICU experience (Tait), I can testify that it ain't easy. I can also testify that our God is bigger than any health problems, worries, and scary moments. We can trust that His unfailing love and attention is all over that baby girl and He is taking care of her. You can keep up with updates on Kelly's blog.

Now, for real. Peace out.

If I Don't Pull My Hair Out First

I'd love to blog right now.

I'd love to write a post that would make you laugh until your sides hurt.

I'd love to be witty and silly and possibly a little thought provoking and spiritual.

However, I'm potty training. Tait. And. Camille. At. The. Same. Time.

Lord, please have mercy and please give me an extra shot of patience.

For the record, Tait is loving it. Camille, however, only wants to wear her Minnie Mouse panties and NOT TAKE THEM OFF. When she sits on the potty, she screams if she has to take her panties off. Um, seriously, darling, the whole point of this little project is NOT to tee tee in the panties. And I'd like for her NOT to tee tee on the Pottery Barn Kids chair that Santa brought. And preferably NOT tee tee on me.

I know. I ask for a lot.

So, for the next couple of days, I'll be pretty occupied by 2 little girls running around in Minnie Mouse panties. I'm praying for patience, very few mopping the floor opportunities, and minor Minnie Mouse panty accidents.

Thankyouverymuch for your thoughts and prayers.

California, Here I Come....Except I Already Went....

Wassup.

I just got back from San Diego yesterday.

Wait. I don't think I told you that I was going to San Diego. Maybe I did. I have no idea.

I WENT TO SAN DIEGO THIS WEEKEND.

There. We're all caught up.

Anyhoo. I had one crazy fantastic time in Cali. Lemme give a shout out to anyone who might read this blog who might be from San Diego. That place rocks and I want to go back again soon. And your weather is absolutely lovely, especially in the middle of January.

Spencer is out there for a 2 week meeting so we decided that I could go out for the weekend. I flew out on Thursday and came back yesterday. I was able to fly First Class, which was such a treat (thanks to a zillion Sky Miles that hubs has saved up) and really made the 4 1/2 hour flight better. Especially on the flight home, when the guy sitting next to me (I was in the window seat) got on the plane, requested a glass of orange juice, drank said juice, fell asleep, and slept for 4 1/2 hours until the flight attendant asked him to raise his seat back for landing. I'm not even kidding. Surely the dude took some sort of medication that made him sleepy. Good thing I have a bladder o' steel and didn't have to get up or I would've had to climb over Sleeping Beauty. I can't imagine getting wedged in a Coach seat next to him and not being able to move at all.

While we were out there, we went out to the Hotel Del Coronado to visit.


We had heard that the Sunday brunch was the most amazing thing to do there, but at seventy two American dollars per person, and since my entire breakfast repertoire consists of waffles and an occasional strawberry yogurt, we decided against the brunch and instead ate lunch on the pool deck for significantly less cashola.

We also rented a car and took a drive northward up the coast. We spent a whole day in La Jolla, which is one of the prettiest towns I've ever seen.



While there, I saw more Lamborghini's than I have ever seen. They were awesome. We went to "Children's Pool" which is where the seals are.




Real live seals. And not in a theme park. Holler. I love the Pacific Ocean.

We looked for whales, and were told that they could be spotted, but never saw any. Bummer.

We also went to Mount Soledad, which is a Veteran's Memorial on the highest mountain top close to San Diego. You can drive up there and see for miles. It was absolutely beautiful. Here's a panoramic view....





Spencer is out there until Friday, and this is officially the longest he's been away from the kids. To say he's missing them is quite the understatement. We're really ready for him to be home, too. This week, he's pretty much stuck in the hotel 24 hours a day. They have him scheduled in meetings, dinners, etc. from the time he wakes up until he goes back to bed at night. Imagine looking out your hotel balcony and seeing this


and not being able to get out and visit it.

Annoying.

While I was there, I had no access to high speed internet (unless I wanted to pay $14 a day - which i didn't) so I'm behind on my bloggy news. So please, catch me up. What's been going on in your life? I'm back the real world & am ready to reconnect to the real world.

Also, if anyone has any potty training tips for my 3 1/2 year old daughter who has NO INTEREST in using the potty, I'd much appreciate it. It might just be the death of me, Mercy.

Dear Chick-fil-A

Dear Chick-fil-A,

First, let me start off by saying that I think that you are a fine, upstanding establishment. As a matter of fact, as far as fast-food restaurants go, you consistently rank #1 in my book. I fully support your "closed on Sundays" policy and absolutely adore the cows used in your marketing campaign. I find it not only fascinating, but prize worthy that you invented the chicken sandwich. I mean, I consider it pure genius that someone in the Chick-fil-A history books thought to put chicken on bread. Changed my life. I love that my oldest daughter has called you "Chicken Lay" her entire life, and now that she's old enough to know better, she still chooses to call you that. And Mr. Cathy? I could squeeze his cheeks.

Let's just say that I'm a fan.

However, I feel that your downfall is your drive thru. Today, I experienced your drive thru along with my 3 children. As I sat forever in the drive thru line, I couldn't help but wonder why all of your parking lots are so small and your drive thru lines so crowded. However, I understand that other people are Chick-fil-A fans as well, so I let it slide. I was greeted at the speaker with a pleasant and polite tone. Then I drove to the window. I paid with my debit card. Then came the chaos. Apparently, in order to keep the drive thru line moving, the employees in the window have taken up a "throw everything at you at once" approach to handing me my food. I was given 4 bags, my debit card, and my receipt all at once. Then I was given 3 drinks at once - two were stacked on top of each other. I pulled off with bags spilled in my car, my debit card on the floor, and my blood pressure in the ceiling.

I do understand that I know nothing about the restaurant business, but I feel that I could possibly give you some pointers, if you'll spare me a few moments of your time.
First, in the future, please choose lots to build your restaurants on that are considerably larger than the ones you have now. Your parking lots prove to be a driver's ed course on a consistent basis.
Second, when people pay for their food at the drive thru window, please allow them a few seconds to put their change or debit card back in their wallet before handing them their food. I personally prefer not to have to climb around the floor of my car to find my missing debit card every time I leave your drive thru line.
Third, please realize that most people are seatbelted in their car and cannot reach out the window like your employees can. It's horribly difficult to reach with 2 arms and grasp everything that is being handed to you.
Fourth, please hand out the order one or two items at a time. I'm a mom and can multitask like a mom should, but not even I can juggle 4 bags, 3 drinks, a debit card, and a receipt at the same time.

As always, I am a Chick-fil-A fan and will continue to support your restaurant. It would be a much more enjoyable experience with normal blood pressure.

Thank you, and have a wonderful day.

*****UPDATE*****
I received a comment from a marketing director for Chick-fil-A. Totally blew my mind, too. I guess Ye Little Olde Blog gets more traffic than I thought!
Anyhoo, he was super incredibly nice and said he was contacting the Operator of that restaurant personally. He also got my address to send me some free stuff. Holler. (that was for you, Ginger.) Chick-fil-A is an amazing company and their customer service is top notch. Hats off to them.
And for my non Chick-fil-A blessed friends, aka, Adam, Kathie, and Annie, I requested a Chick-fil-A in your area. I'm pretty sure I have NO pull in that department, but I tried. I don't fully understand an area of the USofA without a Chick-fil-A - it seems communist to me.