From my hometown...

I signed up to participate in Shannon's My hometown Swap. The idea being that you would be matched with someone from an area of the country that you had never been to - or that you would want to visit. And then you would send things that represent your hometown.

Who knew that this would be such a challenge?! I live in the suburbs. And the only thing that distinguishes us is our traffic, mcmansions, and good schools. And those are rather difficult to package. So, I broadened my hometown. For about five seconds I thought that Emory University hospital might qualify. Then I moved on to Atlanta as a whole. Dismissing the idea of sending a bottle of Coke and a peach. So...what did I send? It's a surprise! But if you know anything about me...you know that books were included.

And then what should I receive in the mail on Saturday? But my very own package! The part of the country where I have never been is the Pacific Northwest. And I was matched with Rachael - from Bellingham, Washington. Let me tell you...I am one very lucky receipent. First, she sent this whole guide that explains what she included and why.

Why didn't I think to do that? And look at that handwriting. I am getting envious.

She even sent chocolate. And you can't really see it in the picture, but they are shaped like salmon. If chocolate is fish shaped...it has less WW points, right?

I got a very cute re-usable bag. That can go into this tiny bag. So I can throw it in my purse for all the times I forget to get out one of the other 25 reusable bags that we have. Do you all do this? Have a collection of them...and then never remember to grab them?

A very cute Washington Apple box. I wonder if I can hide my earrings in here so that the kitties might stop stealing them.

A pottery flower. Isn't it gorgeous? I have my iced tea spoon resting in it right now. I think I have turned it Southern.

A water color of the old court house.

And this very cool Ski to Sea t-shirt. I am still mesmerized by the possibility of snow skiing. On Memorial Day weekend.

And let me tell you. By the time I had pulled all of this out of my box. And thought about just how wonderful Rachael is...I was slapping myself on the head as I thought about all the things that I could have included from here. But never even thought about. So...many, many thanks to Rachael. You sent some amazing things. And have just made me wish even more to get to see your side of the world for myself!

So...what about you? Is there a part of the country that you would like to visit or live? What things would you send from your hometown?

Hair Today...

Michael's hair has always been a point of contention. From what appeared to be heading to mullet land when we first met. To the horrid Super Cuts hair dos. Cut really short. Because it was cheap. And he could wait a long time between appointments walk in visits.

He has always answered my complaints. Mouth agape stares. Sighs of exasperation. With "I'll just get it all shaved off." Which has left me stammering and snorting.

So, when he had surgery in April, and the neurosurgeon did this to him.

Well...shaving it off was the only option. And notice. We did not go to Super Cuts. Because I was driving. And could put my foot down. And say no!

And I must admit. I was surprise. And shocked. He looks really good with a shaved head. And ya'll seemed to really think so based on the comments to this post.

And to continue the sexy appeal...I got him to stop shaving. I love the stubble. He usually does not shave over Christmas. But this time he had longer than a week to work on that facial hair. He had a month. And he got itchy. And cranky.The day before he went back to work. He shaved it off. But. Just for fun. We thought we'd see what he looks like with a goatee. Kinda sinister methinks.

Because he really didn't have enough hair to see what mutton chops might look like.

So...what about you? Do like facial hair? Does your husband fall inline with this preference? Do you have haircut challenges?

Pieces of Eight

Are you wondering when I am going to announce the winner of the Paula Deen cookbook? With the autograph? Would now be a good time? I can always do it later if you are too busy today. Okay, okay...if you insist. Drum roll please...

After counting the entries. And submitting them to the random number site place thing...our winner is...

Michelle at Honest and Truly!

And now, can I get another drum roll?! Because I have not one...but TWO autographed books.

And the second winner is: Jane from Jumpin' in the Jungle!

Congrats ladies. Just email me with your addresses and I'll get your books right out to you.

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming:

I have seen this meme in several places. Most recently at Brandy's - and so I decided to crash the meme party and do it myself. But. I changed one of the categories. Because that is how I roll. So here are all my lists of eights. Minus the fruits.

8 things I'm looking forward to:

1. Both girls going to sleep away camp next week.

2. Sleeping in while the girls are gone and a weeks vacation from those 8am swim team practices.

3. August 10th

4. Going to Disney in September

5. Going to Vegas in October

6. Estrogen weekend in November

7. The next Harry Potter movie.

8. January. 2010. And the final season of LOST.

8 things I did yesterday:

1. Took the girls to swim team practice. At 8am.

2. Went back to the pool for the afternoon.

3. Read a guide book about Las Vegas. Tried to decide what all we would have time to do.

4. Tried to come up with new and inventive ways for Shannon and Brandy to convince their husbands to go to Vegas.

5. Shopped for new car insurance. Because for the first time, Michael has a newer car than me.

6. Cooked dinner

7. Read blogs.

8. Watched the movie "Seven Pounds."

8 things I wish I could do:

1. Lose weight. Easily.

2. Have all Michael's medical bills disappear.

3. Make the girls' scoliosis disappear.

4. Travel more.

5. Speak another language. That is not dead.

6. Sew.

7. Learn photoshop. By osmosis.

8. Exercise. Happily.

8 shows I watch:

1. LOST.

2. The Tudors

3. Weeds

4. Big Love

5. True Blood

6. Survivor

7. Millionaire Matchmaker

8. Fringe

8 books in my to be read pile:

1. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

2. Wings by Aprilynne Pike

3. Lover Avenged by JR Ward

4. One second after by William Forstchen

5. The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan

6. The Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas by Bob Sehlinger

7. Book of a thousand Days by Shannon Hale

8. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

8 places I'd like to travel to:

1. India

2. Tahiti

3. New York

4. Ireland

5. Scotland

6. Moscow

7. Cairo

8. Las Vegas

8 places I've lived:

1. Winter Park, Florida

2. Charlotte, North Carolina

3. Coral Springs, Florida

4. Atlanta, Georgia

5. Stone Mountain, Georgia

6. Athens, Georgia

7. Roswell, Georgia

8. Fayetteville, Georgia

So...if you haven't played yet...play along...and change one of the categories.

Kitties, dinosaurs, and tornados. Oh my.

It is really the kittie's fault. The trouble that those two get into. They work as a team. One follows the other. One is the lookout while the other opens the drawers to my jewelry box. One works on popping the closet door open. While the other rushes in to steal crocs. They are double trouble. And they have always reminded me of that pair of velicoraptors that chase the kids through the kitchen at the end of Jurassic Park.

So when I made this comparison, my girls had no frame of reference. I mean. Jurassic Park was released before they were born. After a few adjustments to my netflix queue, we were ready to sit down and watch the movie.

Katie LOVED it. And it was just the beginning of our so called disaster flick marathon.

There was "Day after Tomorrow." Which led to many discussions on the "science" used by Hollywood. To does global warming = an ice age? To how cute Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal are. Serious. And educational discussions.

"Deep Impact" was fun to watch.Especially after reading "Life as we Knew it" which tackled what would happen if a comet hit the moon.

With all of our volatile weather this spring...and Madalyn's new found terror over tornados...watching "Twister" was actually quite helpful. I could show Madalyn that there was no way we would have a tornado unless she saw a cow flying through the air.Fears totally abated. (Total trivia side note. Twister was the first movie released on dvd. You're welcome.)

And then there was "Independence Day." And now Katie can write a dissertation on the various ways that the Statue of Liberty can be destroyed at the movies.

So...what about you? Do you have a favorite disaster movie? Summer blockbuster? Popcorn movie?

A closer look

Well, yesterday I showed you the big picture of all the planting that Michael did on his "braincation." And today, I thought I would show you all the flowers that I picked out. While Michael did all that hard work in the front yard, I put a few geraniums in a planter on our deck.Should I mention that I started with impatients? But they did not last too long with all of our rain. And then that freak snow over our Spring Break in April. Between the weather and my inability to nurture plants, they are all doomed.

I also got my first tomato plant.I've never had a garden. I want one. But, maybe, I just like the idea of a garden. After all the angst that this tomato plant has caused me. I am not sure how well it would do. Then you do have to take into consideration that we live on a really wooded lot...and I have no area that gets full sun. But my tomato plant. Well. The tomatoes keep dropping off. And I have a trail of ants. Who have climbed up to the second story to make their home in the dirt of that plant. I am thwarted at every turn.

My favorite plant on the deck is my minature petunias in a cup. It's a really big cup. We got these for the end of year teacher gifts. I figured that I am a teacher. And I would celebrate myself.

So...what about you? Do you like to garden? Do you prefer vegetables or flowers? Do you speak plant? (Don't forget to enter to win the autographed Paula Deen cookbook!)

Blog siesta

I think I have had a really long blog siesta. And it's time to wake up. So much has happened over these four months. Some things are blog worthy. Sponge worthy? Some things not. So. In a nutshell. This is what we have been up to:

After Michael got out of the hospital, he hung around the house for a few weeks. Killing time before they could start him in the cognitive and occupational therapy program. He was rather underfoot. Then when he started the program, we were at the rehab center two or three times a week for a few hours. I have read an unbelievable amount of books this year while sitting in waiting rooms.

Instead of hiring a landscaper to put in our spring flowers...I thought Michael might be up to the task. He pulled out the winter pansies. Planted lots of annuals. Planted bulbs. Mulched. And the yard looks fabulous.I am not sure that he is going to get out of being our new gardener. I think he was grateful to go back to work so that he could escape my next trip to buy flowers.

Is it too far gone to talk about the snow we had in March?Yeah. I thought so.

What about Lizzy and her girls coming for Easter?What if I added that she makes dyed plaid eggs? I've told her that I am expecting a plaid tutorial next year.

Well...on Easter Sunday, we went to church. And then we had the biggest Easter Egg hunt in the world. I thought we did it last year. But this year, we out did ourselves. It was really all my mom's fault. She was thinking 500 eggs. So...we bought a bunch of eggs and candy. And when we started filling those eggs, we ran out of eggs. So we bought more eggs. And then ran out of candy.It was a never ending cycle. I think in the end we had 778 eggs "hidden" in the yard. Hidden really does become a relative term with that many eggs. And do you know how heavy the bags are when there are only 9 girls searching for them? I found another one in the yard today. We are still missing one with a dollar coin. I wonder if that one will evah turn up.

And then there was the worst Spring Break in the history of the world. According to my children. Because I made them empty out their closets.And their drawers. And. Try everything on. Katie has made that pivotal turn. She is officially out of the children's department. And into shoes larger than mine.

Oh. Another thing I did on my blog siesta was to go and meet Paula Deen. I think that might have gotten your attention. And as a reward for wading through all this drivel. I have an extra autographed copy of "The Deen Family Cookbook" waiting here just for you. To enter just follow the fine print: comment for your first entry. You can get extra entries for following, tweeting, and/or blogging about it. Just come back and leave extra comments saying so. Contest ends Friday, May 29th at midnight. Winner selected randomly.

So...what about you? What is the longest you have gone between blog posts? Have you cleaned out any closets lately? Are you a Paula Deen fan? Do you have a favorite cookbook?

Well laid plans

I thought that I would get back to writing. That I would get back to reading and commenting. But getting back into the swing of things. Finding my routine. Well, it hasn't been an easy process. Especially since things here are not exactly normal.

Michael is doing great. He gets his staples removed tomorrow. I think he'll be back at work next week. But. He can't drive until the end of July. So, I have begun a six degrees of seperation quest. There has to be someone who lives somewhat near us. And that works near Michael. He cannot be the only one making that daily commute. I have yet to find that person. So. It looks like I am going to be his chauffeur.

Chauffeurs spend an awful lot of time in the car. Time they could be spending at home. Or shuttling children to activities. Or cooking dinner. I have no idea how I am going to get everyone where they need to go. I am going to be an incredible juggler come August.

So yesterday. After my end of year PTA meeting. While I sat here in front of a blank screen and contemplated my next blog entry. Thinking I might tell you about the snow that we had on the first of March. Or maybe about our Spring break. Or meeting Paula Deen. Or my strange desire to have chickens. Or about my newest TV addiction. I was brought out of my day dream by strange hacking noises.

And as I went to investigate, I found one of the hooligan kitties coughing. And foaming at the mouth. She naturally ran from me. And hid behind our washing machine. Still making these horrid gagging noises. Finally with a broom and the long arm of Michael, we extricated her. Stuck her in the kitty carrier. And set off in search of a vet that was really close to our house.

It was challenging paying attention to the road as I listened to Jessie try to breathe. That high pitched wheeze. The struggle to push air into her lungs. The wet congestion as she tries to release whatever she is gagging on.

The first one I pulled into...the doctor was gone. And they directed me to another vet another mile up the road. As I pulled into the next office...they were expecting us, and took Jessie right away. It wasn't too much longer before they came to let me know that they had to put her under anestheia. And it looked like she had a shoe lace stuck in her esophagus. They were working on pulling it out. And they would keep me updated.

Have I told you how bad these kitties are? I thought so. Well. Apparently, these vets now have a great story to tell. About the cat that ate 40 hair tyes. And got them stuck in her throat. At least the bill this time was only $400. And not the $1200 that her sister cost us for eating foam.

Happy first birthday hooligan kitties.

So...what about you? How many emergency room visits have you had this year? Ever? Do you keep a running log of blog topics? Know anyone Michael could carpool to work with?