You may or may not have noticed that I have been …not here lately. I am having difficulty organizing my personal life. I’m almost to the point of having to have your people call my people…it sure would be nice if I had a person to maybe delegate that to…but I have no person to call your people.
Where have I been? I’m not sure exactly, I think I was sucked into a time warp and it may be attributed to when I lost my watch in August as I was riding Hill around on the lawn mower through the neighborhood. Things just haven’t been the same since then I guess. We are human we want to blame someone or some event for making things awry. Alright, here’s the latest scoop (as I look through my calendar to remember what we’ve been doing.)
I would be remiss if I failed to mention that September was Cleft Awareness Month.
My hopes, dreams and goals are to become more involved in promoting Cleft Awareness. "Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy." - Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh
On September 7th Hill started AWANA at Parkway Baptist Church. Awana is a church program that has different age groups and they learn bible verses etc. We don’t go to church there, but Tanner invited Hill to go and since we really don’t have any kid programs at our church we said, “Heck yeah!” He went until Week 5 because he didn't really warm up to the whole idea of loud kids in the fellowship hall for the introduction and ending each Wednesday night, but I think he enjoyed the classroom time as a ‘Puggle’ with Mr. & Mrs. Rea (that’s our friend Baylie’s grandma and grandpa.) One week we invited Harvey and he had a blast! Hill was Sponge Bob Grouchy Pants and thought I was going to leave him there, which I usually do, but didn’t that last time. He gets all teary eyed and maybe a little scared and then I spend the evening worried about him. So, we are now officially Puggles drop outs. Anyway, here are some pictures of week before his last AWANA venture when Harvey came.
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| Harvey |
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| Baylie bug |
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| Tanner |
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Hill & Harvey eating cookies, rice crispy treats and kool-aid at 7:35 pm.
But who cares what time bed time is before we eat a ton of sugar? |
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| Sweet Mr & Mrs Rea helping Hill color |
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God made the flowers
(that's what his picture is - a flower) |
Sometimes we get to help Chip’s step dad, Ed, by taking care of Daisy Dog when he needs to go out of town. Daisy is the sweetest dog ever. Hill talks about “Daisy Dog” all the time. Thursday, September 15th we went to Ed’s house and Hill got to go too, he LOVES that Ed has a play area with a big slide!
I am pretty sure it is a need we will have to fulfill at our house in the near future.
The weekend of the 16th was full of fun events! Chip went to the coast and Hill and I were left to party all weekend! Tanner Pettit had his 3rd birthday party on Saturday the 17th and it was so much fun! Mrs. Whit did an awesome job with the dinosaur theme. For those of you that know Tanner know that he LOVES him some dinosaurs. He knows all of their complicated names and what they eat. If he doesn't know what kind they are then he makes up the name which fools me every time.
The party was wonderful and she received such beautiful things.
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Hostesses with the Mama: Gena Pope, JJ Warrington, Whitney Pettit,
Me, & Lauren Thompson |
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| Guests |
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| All of Emory Hart's loot! |
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| The table |
Since we last talked things have changed a lot work wise. I am no longer working as a commercial lender at the branch. My last day way September 16th. All the sweet sweet people I worked with gave me a little going away luncheon.
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| This was JUST the dessert table |
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| Sweet Judy |
I will for sure miss all the people at the branch and also the food that all the wonderful ladies would make on the random days that I was starving! I’d love it when Sweet Mama would come into my office and say, “I made some homemade praline cookies from scratch.” Or when one of the ladies was dying to make the apple cake recipe from last month’s Southern Living magazine….I was dying to eat it! Seriously though, I will miss seeing everyone at the branch they have all helped me learn so much and have been such great people to work with. I guess my ol’ boss man doesn’t have to worry about any more plumbing issues with the Presidential Potty. He’s the greatest. I will miss seeing my customers and the people that are in and out of the branch daily.
Yet, my new job is fantastic. I started on Monday the 19th. I’m still with the same bank just back on the administrative side again. I’m doing corporate underwriting which is really what I enjoy doing, the analytical side of things. I have the same fantastic boss that I did when I was an analyst, Barry, which seems like eons ago but was only two years ago. It’s nice to have good people to work for, I’ve been very lucky. I remember talking to Barry a couple years ago when I was trying to decide if I wanted to transfer from the admin side to the branch – I had such reservations about leaving his department and everyone in it. I told him that I’m pretty sure we could all be garbage collectors together and I’d love what I do because the people I work with. He knew that my going to the branch was a good career move but assured me that if I ever wanted to come back I could. I went to the branch and LOVED everyone I worked for and with and around. I have to say I am very fortunate. We made a good team and took care of business and enjoyed doing it along the way.
God always knows what he’s doing and his timing is never less than impeccable. The way the cards fell, Barry was challenged to head up a new corporate department at the bank and needed an underwriter. Having worked with him before, and now having lender experience under my belt plus my past commercial analyst experience, I was flattered to be given the opportunity to embark on this new banking endeavor. We’ve hit the ground running…well, he’s hit the ground running. I’m just tagging along to help process information. I’m enjoying the challenge. My first week I was working on something and for two days straight I got into “the zone” and forgot to stop and eat lunch until like 2:00 or 3:00. I’m a dork and like that kind of stuff - getting so deep into concentrating on something you lose track of time. When you snap out of it it’s almost refreshing. Can’t explain it. I should just stop there before you guys think I’ve fallen off the deep end and into nerd-om.
The people that I work with now were really worried about my new office and how it faces the conference room. You see, we work in fish bowls. We face the hall way and there is not a wall there, it’s glass…so you see everything and everyone. Someone that had that office previously said that the people in meetings would just stare at you. They probably aren’t staring at YOU per se, but they look off in la la land and their focus seems to be at that specific office. So, before I even had my boxes unpacked my co-worker next door, Sandra, had hi-jacked a fake tree from the floor below us to put in my office to block people from looking at me all day.
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| Sandra transporting the tree in the elevator |
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| Carrying the tree down the hall to my office |
Continuing on with the Month of September….
Saturday the 24th I went back to the branch and worked. I told my boss, Justin, that I wasn’t going to leave them high and dry after I was already on the schedule to work. That wouldn’t be the right thing to do. So, I worked that morning and then we went to my nephew Shane Preston’s birthday party that afternoon. SP turned 4 and he had a Sponge Bob birthday party. This cake was something else! Usually really decorated cakes aren't very tasty, but this one was fantastic!
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Maci is one of Hill's girlfriends.
He talks about her all the time. |
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| Hill just chillin on the jumper |
We had a great time! Happy Birthday S.P.! You are growing up way too fast!
Sunday the 25
th was busy as well. The Bishop came to church, I always love it when he comes, I want to keep him in my pocket and hang out with him all the time. We had a luncheon at the church and I brought rolls. When I say that it reminds me of the movie Dirty Dancing when Baby says, “I carried the watermelon.” Dork.
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| Speaking of dork...what's up with this look? |
That Sunday night was supper club at the Hawkins! We were extremely unprepared and Sunday was a weird night to have it on, but with SEC football schedules and every day stuff, it was the only time we could get it in during September. We served a melting pot of what sounded good to us even if it didn’t really all go together. We had Chip’s specialty…Magic Yum Shrimp. This is skewered shrimp with cream cheese wrapped in bacon tossed on the grill and melted gruyere cheese on top, yum. Then the only thing I know how to make, pineapple casserole. If you have the Prime Meridian cookbook it’s page 200. You must triple the recipe to feed 6-8. It’s that good. I did try my hand at sautéed fresh spinach with garlic, but it was just mediocre. For dessert….I made a key lime pie. I’d not made one before and so I hated serving something I’d never made but it was great, simple, light and fantastic. I should have made two. Fun was had by all, as usual even though it was a “school night” we still managed to fit in a Wii game of Jeopardy.
Wednesday the 28th I had lunch with our sweet “Sassy”, Sandra Landrum. Do you know how much I love that woman? To the moon and back, that’s how much. That was the highlight of my day that day.
Thursday manna from heaven was sent down in disguise as a chiropractor. I’d been down in my back twice in the last month and a half. I went to the doctor twice only to try drugs that I can’t take and function during the day simultaneously. I’m a lush. So instead of moping around the house telling Chip every 5.5 seconds…”One day I’ll get better” while secretly planning how my life would be in a hover round wheelchair…I went to the chiropractor. Hello I love you Felicia Poe. You have made my life a better place and one day I will write a haiku about you.
Since I was feeling considerably better I didn’t have any reservations about the upcoming 3 ½ hour car trek to the coast. Chip and Hart went Thursday night to the condo so they could wake up Friday and fish all day. Friday the 30th I went to pick up Mama Lou (my mom) from the airport to care for my first born while we go on an adult worry free weekend with the Pettit People. Whit and I got to town Friday evening and ate at Half Shell Oyster house, which was fantastic, then went to the condo to meet up with our hubby’s. The men caught three fish. None keepers. They had a great time though and that’s the point.
Saturday we did a whole lot of nothing at our leisure. At like 10 am we went to the Magnolia Brewery, which if you are a devout follower I have pics of Hill and I at the brewery last year. We then went to eat at Mesina’s near the condo and watch the MS State game. The girls got pedicures while the guys went back to the condo. Then Whit and I hit up the outlet mall in Gulfport. Emory Hart needed a couple things before her arrival and since Hill is into picking out his own outfits and they HAVE TO HAVE a truck on them or he won’t wear it I bought him 5 different truck shirts. I did buy myself some shoes and then I could not resist the tiny baby jeggings from Gap for Emory Hart. I tried to find a pic for you on Gap’s website, but they are soo cute they can’t be found anywhere. Some of you may be familiar with jeggings - - picture jeans, but as stretchy leggings. Ok, now picture them in the tiniest of tiny pant sizes ever made. Get this girl some UGG boots and put her on the dance floor! What! What! Oh poor Emory Hart you better get here fast because I must dress you up and play with you like a doll since I have too much testosterone at my house.
After the shopping we went back to the condo to prep for tradition. What is the coast tradition? Hello, to go eat at the Jourdan River Steamer. I’ve not blogged in so long I’m sure you forgot the coast must do’s. I love their food and I love everyone that works there. It’s a good thing we don’t live down there or we’d be broke from
having to eat there every night of the week. Here is the only picture I got all weekend...
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Sorry Whit. It was to precious not to post.
Her bib says, "Time to get Cracking!" |
So, the food was a fabulous as usual and Chip was getting ants in his pants because we HAD to get back in time to watch Ole Miss barely beat Fresno State. Before we could go back to the condo we had to continue with tradition and stop at Dairy Queen and get a Blizzard, another reason I can’t live in Diamondhead – I’d turn into a big ol’ Blizzard I’d eat them every day. I was so full though I couldn’t even look at the food menu only the Blizzard menu. I remember Whitney commenting, I’m so glad we didn’t eat dinner here (talking about DQ.)
After the Blizzard I fell into a coma and missed the game and probably the only win we will have this season. Oh well, I still love you Rebs.
Sunday Chip and I took our time getting back to Koz. Mama Lou had everything under control and we stopped over in Hattiesburg to check out a few stores and of course eat before our trek home to kiss on my munchkin! Oh how I missed him. Oh how I love it that he loves me so much!
That is the September Recap with the first couple days of October at the coast.
We did do a little of this during the month of September too..
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