Seriously??

He needs no encouragement...now I am off to clean the sofa.

Floors, Part 2

We are done!!

In progress...

Yes...this is dust...from bricks...and wood...and yes...we are still trying to get it up and out of our house...but we are very close...oh and yes...everything was coated in this....we spent hours dusting walls, baseboards, floors (new and old), furniture, everything...then mopping, then moving our bedroom furniture, and finally today the living room...

 To our dad's - need a creative solution for not using one of those plastic or brass covers...how about one made from our wood????

 Now for all the glory...

 And this is the reason for the all brick dust...they undercut the bricks so the wood fits under it...great look...terrible side-effects of getting this look...soon...very soon...we will get all the dust out.

We are both thrilled with our new floors...both rooms appear larger and they feel wonderful!!

New Floors

We are super excited to be getting new bamboo floors in our living room and master today.  We are replacing our nasty, worn out carpet in the "high traffic areas."  We spent last night moving all the furniture from the rooms to get ready for installation today.  This morning when Andrew left for the hospital at 5:45am I had to get up because I can't move our mattress alone...so Tucker and I went for a walk and now we are wasting time until the guys arrive.

Before with furniture...

 This morning waiting for the new floors...

 The state of my house right now...

My wonderfully lucky brother in law, Hugh, is in Jackson this month and really wanted to come over to wash some clothes yesterday afternoon but quickly learned that he couldn't wash clothes here because brilliant me had the guys stack the floors in our garage directly in front of the dryer vent...we haven't been able to wash clothes since Tuesday.  Instead, Hugh got to help Andrew move our dressers...and we give him beer and hamburger for dinner...poor fellow.

Anyone up for dinner tonight?  We pay with beer, wine, and dinner....just kidding!

As Promised, Tucker v. Sprinkler

Pictures from Ashley Anne's Wedding

Christie (my partner in crime for the weekend) was smart enough to bring her camera to the wedding - I on the other hand...not so much.  Important information - the wedding was on the bride's family farm...it was in the middle of a field but beside a red metal tractor barn that was cleaned up for the event...

 Cars were stopped as they entered the farm and passengers were dropped off at the barn (just in front of the trees way up yander).  The driver then took the car way down here to park, but they provided a golf cart shuttle service operated by 10 year olds that had too much fun to get you back up to the barn.  See the golf cart in the middle of the field?

 Jess, Christie, and me all together again...all of us lived on the same hall freshman year and ended up living together throughout college.  Notice in the background - chandelier - hanging from a metal tractor shed, and cream draperies...the place fixes up real nice...

 When guest arrived, the doors were opened, but they closed them for AA's entrance...they are the doors from her grandparents house...

 And finally the beautiful alter...It was just plum beautiful to me...I loved the setting, the style, the classic touches, and of course the fact that I have been covered in mud while on this very same piece of property because we had been riding 4-wheelers all day...and because it goes without saying it is in the country!

Tucker and the Sprinkler

We are watering the backyard tonight for the first time since we got Tucker.  While I ran out to pick up dinner, Andrew turned on the sprinkler...and it seems Tucker can't get enough of it.  We know that he loves drinking running water but never would have thought he would attack an operating sprinkler.  Whelp, he did.  Then he chased the water, ran through it, jumped over it, attacked it, put his mouth on the metal arm thing that pops the water...crazy!  He was soaked by the time I got home.  Then I wanted to watch the action, so back out we went...and he showed off for me.  Then after taking a nap, he wanted to go out again.  He has spent at least an hour running sprints around our yard, playing with the sprinkler, attacking the food bowl, etc...we have been watching from inside and laughing like crazy.  Typically he plays hard for about 20 minutes then sleeps for hours...not tonight.  I asked Andrew if he gave Tucker 5-hour energy while I was gone.  He is going to sleep like a champ tonight.

I will try to get pictures/videos next time we run the sprinkler.

You Don't Care But I Do

I have the hardest time finding cute, practical woman's golf clothes...like I said...you don't care but I do!  Thanks to this months group fitness article in Southern Living I found this website - www.pinksandgreens.com.

Not only do they have their own brand, they carry tons of national brands.  Better yet, they put the clothes on models so you can actually see what it will look like!  Just last night we were looking at Dick's Sporting Goods and at one of our pro shops...nothing...I mean how many khaki, black, navy skorts can I have?  Granted they have some other options, but the shirt selection that actually matches the pink and brown skort is terrible...

Now if you will excuse me, I am going shopping instead of the grocery store!

Update on Tucker, Airport at Lakeland, I'm Back..

First, Tucker's follow up blood work yesterday came back completely normal.  Obviously it was an infection and the meds did their job!

Second, Lesley and I decided we needed a break from the office at lunch, so we headed toward Five Guys...only before we could get there, I got a hard love-tap from a sweet lady that couldn't get out of her car fast enough to make sure we were okay.  Amazingly, I didn't get pushed into the guy in front of me and there was no (none, zip-zlich) damage to either car.  She even helped me rub the road-gum off my bumper to make sure it wasn't her black paint.  Dad - ignore this part - we decided there was nothing to be done and off to lunch we went.  All is well...and yes Andrew the trunk opens and closes.

And before I leave you today - I think one could make the assessment that I am baaccck from my brief lull in frequent blogging...don't you just love it!

Oh one more thing - how come I am one of the sober ones but look completely trashed???

Give Them Credit

Wow - gotta give these guys credit.  You must watch this You Tube video.  It is Clemson and Davidson baseball teams during a rain delay.  We have everything from a hunting trip to a tanning bed to tennis.  It is totally worth the 6 minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UZgVogYevM

Really?!?

After doing some yard work, Andrew says he needs a snack before we go to dinner.  He grabs a bag of animal crackers (purchased for John but still unopened) and dives in.  Guess who joins him?  Yep, you got it...I get out of the shower to learn that Tucker likes animal crackers too.  So much so that when you say animal cracker he gets excited.  Really???  First it was chicken nuggets or chicken minis from Chick-Fil-A then it was popcorn (a bag for you, a bag for him) and now it is animal crackers.  What's next?  Steak?  Oh wait we are nearly there...

From Andrew: It isn't nice to make fun of me and my Tuck-y man.

Too Many??

Is it possible to have too many sweet shops? I am thinking the answer is no if you live in the Flowood/Rez area. No joke - I can turn 4 ways from our neighborhood - north or south from the east or west entrance - and find at least 3 shops that satisfy my sweet teeth within 3 miles. Get ready for this...ice cream stores: 5 (not including McDonald's, Sonic, etc); cupcake, candy, etc: 3; doughnuts: 2. Dangerous, I tell you, dangerous!

 

Whew, part 2

Some times life gets a little crazy and we love it! Since returning from the wedding weekend in Georgia, we have had two more sets of visitors.  First up - MB, Hugh, John, and of course Tico!  They spent Mother's Day weekend with us.  John is such a big boy - he slept on the trundle all by himself - under the deer head which he loves and wants to pet and kiss every five minutes.  He also finally took some sort of a liking to Tucker!  On Saturday, MB and I took him to the MS Natural Science Museum, which he loved.  Way to many animals and neat-o things for him not to love it.  After naps, we went to get a "special treat" (frozen yogurt) and then MB went for a pedicure.  John wanted to go to, so I went to help out - he sat like this the entire time...Boys we promise it was for the water, not to get his nails done!

On Monday, I attended my first "Cooking Club" dinner and loved it!  I have been invited to join a group of 7 other girls that gather once a month to discuss, what else, food.  Basically, a cookbook is selected and we cook the majority of it and discuss the recipes - difficulty level, cost, actual time it took, do we like it, what we would do differently, etc.  Each month everyone is assigned a different recipe to prepare...then we eat and discuss the 8 dishes!  I can't say it enough - I loved it!

Also, during the week, we visited Petsmart then the vet...in that order.  Tucker loves going to Petsmart and is a major hit while there...

On Wednesday night - we noticed that Tucker really wasn't feeling well and seemed to be running a high fever.  He also hadn't been eating great since the weekend - so we gave him doggie advil, which helped, so we thought we had turned the corner...then Thursday morning, we notice he has a nosebleed going down...so off to the vet to find out that he has a serious infection requiring doxycycline for two weeks.  Little fellow is feeling much, much better now, but he was a sick little boy.  The exact cause of the infection isn't know but we have been told either tick bite (yes, he gets flea/tick meds monthly and no we haven't seen any) or a sinus infection caused by getting something in his nose...Andrew and I are putting money on the second one...with this dog - it is the only option!

Then this past weekend, we had the Ouzts' in town for the weekend.  We introduced them to the goodness that is Cock of the Walk on Friday night and return trips to Kiefer's and Julep on Saturday.  Andrew and his father played golf on Saturday morning while his mom and spent the morning "looking at things."  We picked out new hardwood floors for our living room and master, then went to the "Outlet" for Mrs. Susan's pottery dishes, then Target for Tucker a new blanket, then lunch with the boys.  Saturday afternoon the boys visited Bass Pro, Lowe's, then worked to repair Andrew's love tap of the wall, sealed the guest bath tub and tile, and changed out some light bulbs before going to Edwin Watts.  Saturday night was Julep which always results in eating way too much yummy food but worth every calorie!  Sunday, after getting guilt tripped by the granddog, they left for New Orleans while Andrew and I headed to the golf course. 

Here is the spoiled, recovering from a nasty infection, loving his new blanket since he tore up his old one and his momma threw it away, dog...

What a wonderful month or so of visits with family - we love having company and spending time with our family and friends.  On tap next...installation of hardwoods, painting the drywall patch, figuring out how to fix the shower door without using duck tape or super glue, and well...just life in our crazy house!

Whew...

Glad last week is done...it was fun and great, but man it was a lot!

I left our house for the coast at 5am on Monday morning for our annual PDD Conference.  I spent all week working and attending the conference...doing things like setting up, staffing the registration desk, preparing for a dinner in a park, etc...it is a lot of work.  Our conference is at the Beau and this was my view...

And of course I can't spend time on the coast without spending time with crazy John.  I spent Monday afternoon, Wednesday evening, and Friday morning with the turkey head.  On Monday he sprayed me with the water hose...more like chased me around the yard spraying me.  On Wednesday, MB, John and I got ice cream. John asked for ice cream with chocolate...so that is what he got, until he saw my M&M's...then he needed some of mine too.  Before the night was over, he sprayed me with a straw full of ice cream.  On Friday, I didn't get sprayed with water or ice cream, but I did get splattered from his toothbrush that he opted not to use of his teeth but rather as a drill and a window cleaner...

After lunch, John and MB dropped me off at the airport so I could fly to Atlanta to spend the weekend with college friends at a wedding.  I met Christie in ATL, then we drove to Americus, GA for Ashley Anne's wedding. We also grabbed a bottle of wine so we could enjoy it while watching the Royal Wedding.  Saturday we drove up to Andersonville and walked the Civil War Prison site and Cemetery.  

Then it was wedding time - which was beautiful!  I will put up some pictures and a link when I have them.  Then Sunday it was back to ATL then to Gulfport then Ocean Springs and finally home...well I forgot my detour to Kiefer's before going home.