Proud of My Dad

Meet my dad

The Honorable Ben W. "Bud" Childers
County Court at Law #1
Fort Bend County, Texas

Isn't he a cutie for an old man? He's mostly grey because of my brother Jason, I am sure I had nothing to do with any of it....at all.

Wednesday, I got a call from my dad. He was at the airport headed to Washington D.C. to go to a conference on a new grant program that he is trying to get funding for in his local court system. He was chosen by the State of Texas to be a representative for this lateset venture. As you can tell, my dad is a judge and he really loves his job.

I do hope my explinatation of the situation is accurate, but in a nutshell.....He saw a problem in the system where people that have mental problems whether it be retardation, schizophrenia, or other mental issues come into court, have their hearing or trial and are found guilty, sent to jail then don't get the medical care or medicines they need while serving their time, and then are back on the streets doing random loopy things again. It becomes a vicious cycle. There are some people in the world that aren't ok and need special attention to help them gain a sense of normalcy. There are many sides to this 1) it costs tax payers a lot of money to have someone represent these repeat law breakers, send them to jail, and all that comes with the expenses just to repeat the process again once they are back on the streets and 2) The current system doesn't benefit us or the people that can't always help themselves.

We all understand you can't make these patients/felons take their daily medicine to make them a socially acceptable human but we have to start somewhere in making our system more functional. I guess I should find out more on this program my dad is trying to adopt before I go posting like I know what I'm talking about. Either way I know that it's a good thing, a good program that helps people that need help. It's a system that makes things a little more just.

Isn't that a world we all want to live in? People helping others out, fighting for causes for the benfit of others, educating ourselves to make things a little more just?

I'm proud of my dad. He saw a problem and has taken the initiative to try and better it. He saw a possibility for grant funding and is taking the steps to obtain it.

Good luck to my daddy-o, I hope he learns a lot at his conference so he can come back and make a positive change.

Desk Drawer

My desk drawer at work is not the normal working girls desk drawer. Yes, I have the normal file drawer a paper clip and rubber band drawer, but now I have something special. A food drawer. After the Hot Chocolate Incident and battling the Grunk - - which both of those dramatic days happened before I announced I was expecting...did any of you figure out what was going on then?


Anyway, I knew this tapeworm in me having to eat every 2 hours needed a solution. It became a mission. Nothing of this magnitude could happened over night. I felt like the worker ant bringing the Queen ant pieces of things to eat every morning. I became like a squirrel hoarding all the nuts for the winter. Enough analogies, bottom line is I could open a convenience store out of my desk drawer now.

Let me tell you what we have. I need to take inventory anyway.

5 bags of 100 Calorie Popcorn,

4 little serving cups of Applesauce

Orange, Passionfruit & Jasmine Green Tea Bags

2 bottles of Gatorade (the greenish/yellow kind because the rest gives me "indie")

many different sizes of bottled water

Ginger Ale

Coke

1 special K Bar

3 Fiber One Chocolate Chip bars

3 Granola Bars

2 Special K2O Protein Water Mix (for bottled water)

Peach Tea Mix (for bottled water)

Crystal Light Green Tea Honey Lemon (for bottled water)

Spoons


A Coozie for my canned drinks (or as you MS folk call them "Huggies" - - Huggies is what I will put on my baby's behind not my cold frosty beverage)

Cafe Du Monde Cup to magically take me away to New Orleans and eat beignets in the French Quarter, M&F Cup to bring me back to reality and then a red solo cup that makes me feel like I'm at the Grove drinking a Toddy. Why do I have so many cups? Because we don't have any at work....ever. I think they cut them out of the budget or something.

Anyway....can you visualize what my desk drawer looks like? It usually has an abundant supply of Frosted Strawberry Pop Tarts too, but I just ate the last one 5 minutes ago. Note to self, must restock.

Pop Tarts sound so unhealthy, but actually the front of the package has a picture of a big strawberry that says it's made with Real Fruit; not only that it's "a good source of 7 vitamins and minerals", so who needs prenatal vitamins? In the ingredients it contains both wheat and soy ingredients. With all that healthy stuff they must be good for you, right? (wink, wink)

The good news is that I'm not having to eat every two hours anymore. My nausea (knock on wood) is somewhat subsiding. I think the Second Trimester Fairies came and visited while I slept on my magic Boppy pillow and said ok, she has eaten herself out of house and home we can give her a break....sleep tight Fatty McFat Butt.

The bad news is....well there is no bad news besides the fairies calling me Fatty McFat Butt.
Truth hurts.

Greek Feast!

Our cousin, Brooks, spent a semester in Prague and during her stay she ventured over to Greece. She picked up a few recipes that she was kind enough to share with us when we went to visit her last month at the Lake House in Texas.

The recipe is a simple Greek taziki sauce and gyro made with pork tenderloin instead of the traditional lamb. Since the Land of Koz is foreign and doesn't have pita bread available within a 65 mile radius we settled for tortillas. Which worked out fine.

First things first....wash your hands. This is actually Chip washing his hands before making the cinnamon rolls the other day, but I'm sure his hands are still clean.

Taziki Sauce
1 lb of plain yogurt
1 large cucumber
2 tablespoons of vinegar
3 cloves of garlic
4 tablespoon of olive oil

Here are the "Cast of Characters"

We bought the big 2 lb thing of yogurt and just divided it in half. Peel the cucumber then grate it with a cheese grater onto a paper towel to absorb the juices. Pat dry. Chop up the 3 cloves of garlic (or cheat like we did and use the already minced kind in a jar and guesstimate on three cloves.) You don't have to buy the industrial size of vinegar like we do, but if you are familiar with my crazy first cravings you know they all involved vinegar (and usually cheese puffs). Then you have your normal olive oil.

Here is how we mixed everything. In a bowl we took 1 lb of plain yogurt and plopped in the cucumber. Mixed well. Then since Chip is really big into food textures and doesn't like to crunch on garlic we used the food processor and added the garlic, olive oil & vinegar then purified it into oblivion. See.


Then we poured the garlic, oil, vinegar liquid into the yogurt cucumber mixture and mixed well. Cover and stick in the fridge....the longer it sits in the fridge the better all the flavors mesh.

Just set it and forget it.

Alright......rapidly moving onto the next scene we have the pork tenderloin. When it comes to this recipe the simpler the better as far as seasoning the meat goes. So all you need is the pork, olive oil and we like Cavenders Greek Seasoning.

Before you start preparing the pork run outside and turn on the grill. (we do it on the grill, but I'm sure any other mode of cooking would be fine as long as your pork is cooked)

Now....Rub olive oil on both sides of pork to coat it so that the Cavenders will stick.

Generously sprinkle Cavenders over pork t's and then flip and sprinkle the other side too!


Place on grill until it's done (read the label on the package to know the appropriate temp)



Once you take your pork off the grill, let it rest for about 20 minutes uncovered.
Then you can cut it into any size you'd like. We like ours a little medium thin. (I just made up the word medium thin, so it's a good thing we have visuals here huh?)

Here is everything you need. Taziki, pork, and tortillas. You can also chop up tomatoes or lettuce or some red onion if you'd like. My hubby doesn't eat any of that so we don't have that in our household.




Take your tortilla (Chip likes his warmed in the skillet first) then lay it on your plate fill it up with meat and then put as much taziki on it as you'd like or you can even dip it in the taziki if you prefer.
Roll it up and eat it up.

Enjoy Your Special Night in Greece!

P.S.

Forgot to tell you to get your taste buds ready because tonight we are going to Greece! We will be making pork tenderloin gyros with a fantastic and super simple taziki sauce. Oh man, I can't wait! This is my newest favorite! So refreshing.

I will be sure to post pictures for real this time.

Cinnamon Rolls

Chip and I made homemade Cinnamon Rolls last night and it was a process. I guess it may not be any different from any other time consuming thing you make from scratch, but I wouldn't really know. We started making the rolls at like 6:15 last night and finally got in bed at like 10:30.

I thought I was going to have to make it a two day process. I laid down on the couch while the dough was rising and would fall asleep and wake up to Chip like an anxious little kid at Christmas saying....is it ready yet? How's the dough coming? Can we roll it out yet? No sweetie, just 20 more minutes. Doze off for a second then hear. Has it been 20 minutes yet? No honey, wait 10 more minutes.

After the dough finished rising, which was really neat because I'd never done that before. It was almost like a feeling of accomplishment. Chip rolled out the dough for me with our new rolling pin. I've never owned a rolling pin before, it's great! It's the little things that make me happy. All of this was a first for me. Chip on the other hand is a veteran. He was telling me about the old days when they didn't have pizza crust in a can thing like biscuits and he had to make his own crust from scratch. Wow, grandpa that must have been rough! Tell me more weird things from when you were a kid.

Once we finished baking a batch, even though it was really late, we had to try them out. I let Chip go first. The noises he made were obscene. It really was THAT GOOD. It was definitely a process and thank goodness it made a total of 5 pans because it was a lot of work.....totally worth it though. I'm scared Chip won't eat anything else now.

I had full intentions of taking step by step photos of the creation but the only picture I got was of Chip washing his hands before we started. I won't post it, but will try to do better with my photo taking and posting. No promises, I will just try. You can Click Here for the recipe for Cinnamon Rolls 101. If there is a Cinnamon Rolls 102 I am not sure I could take that class, I am a beginner and evidentally a slow learner. The Janii and Susan have both made these from the Pioneer Woman site too. P-Dub is my hero.

I am the most annoying patient...love you Dr. North!

Before I go into how my baby doctor appointment went I want to tell you all that Tasha's surgery went well. Please continue your prayers because the hard part is just beginning. When we went to visit her she was in a lot of pain and running a fever. I stayed with her while the boys went and got something to eat. The nurse came in and gave her a long over due pain shot that actually worked. Within 5 minutes my poor little Tasha was snoozing. I was glad. I knew she felt a little better in la la land by the time we left.

She was in the same hospital that we will deliver our baby. Chip and I were able to tour the facility by the sweetest lady named Joy who said that Brother Barry was her preacher before he came to Kosciusko. She was a riot. She loved her some Brother Barry. She went through the step by step process of what door I come in when I'm in labor, to the gown will be laying on the bed you go and put it on when you get here, then the monitors they will strap on to my body and where the baby sits after it's born. From there she informed Chip that it's his responsibility to take the baby down the hallway to show the family and then on into the nursery to be weighted, measured, etc. Chip's comment was.....so, umm, I have to carry it? Joy suggested we get a doll and practice for the next few months. Long story short, we had a wonderful tour and the facility is very nice and I hope all the people are as sweet as Joy was.

Ok, so we went to the doctor when we first got to Jackson they have a new building that looks like a hotel or casino, it's huge and fancy. Here is how it went....This is no lie - - I felt like I was on candid camera.

Dr.: How are you? Do you have any questions?

RCH: As a matter of fact, I do have a couple. Have you ever heard of anyone getting stopped up and congested every time after they eat and are full?

Dr.: with a baffled look in his eye No, next question.

RCH: Dr. North, am I weird?

Dr.: Yes, very weird.

He went on to explain that he'd never heard of that but when you are pregnant your hormones do something funky to your sinus' and that may be it.

RCH: Dr. North, I've never had a bladder infection so I don't know what it feels like, but my bladder gets this awful pain when I have to go to pee.

Dr.: My recommendation is to not wait so long before you go to the bathroom, you are holding it too long.

RCH: Uhhh, ok. Thanks, I'll try that.

So after Dr. North and I had our hilariously interesting conversation where I'm sure he felt like he was talking to a 2 year old who is about to give birth to another baby. He pulled out the little machine that listens to the baby's heartbeat. I was really really nervous. It took him a long time to find it. The seconds felt like minutes and as if not knowing when to go to the bathroom wasn't annoying enough, here is how that conversation went while trying to find the heartbeat.

I repeatedly asked.....why can't you hear it? It hasn't been long enough.

What's going on? I'm looking, just wait.

What about now? Was that it? No, not yet, it's too early.

What's too early? Why can't we hear it? There it is. 140 bpm. That is good.

Chip said he wasn't nervous because he looked at Dr. North's face the whole time and he didn't look concerned. You know, like when you are on a plane and there is turbulence you always stare at the flight attendant for their reaction to know if you're going to go down or not.

I did have another question. I told Dr. North this was probably the most important question of all. He prepared himself. I said Dr. North, Ole Miss is going to have one hell of a football team this year and when we go to a championship it will be in January....will you be going? He said yes I would think so. I said ok, so I can go too because you will be there to deliver my baby if I go into labor at the game? He said no that was not an option - I couldn't go. He and Chip would go and I would have to stay here without a husband or doctor to help deliver this baby. It was unfair. What am I going to do?

Ok, so that was it. He said he'd see me in 4 weeks and then we'd find out what it was in September. Eeeeerrrrrkkkkkk. What? September? I'll be 17 1/2 weeks by the August appointment...Dr. North we have to negotiate. I need to know what my baby is next month. Need to. I can't stand it. He said ok, well instead of 4 weeks we will say 4-5 weeks you come back. Now if you can't tell what it is then you have to pay out of pocket for another sonogram. That is my negotiation.

Dr. North walked out and I'm sure he was glad I was the last appointment of the day. He probably went home and had a big ol' Toddy.

I go back August 20th which will almost be 5 weeks and 3 days since my last appointment....I stretched it. My mom will fly in to come see Baby Hawkins and all of it's glory. I can't wait!

Someone has a case of the Monday's

I need coffee. I don't drink coffee, nor will I start any time soon, but I am in dire need of energy. I woke up this morning after little to no sleep to puffy eyes, swollen face, stopped up nose, can I just go back to bed mentality. Got dressed came to work and the A/C is broken. This may be the worst case of the Monday's I've ever had. Ok, I got my rant out of the way.

Speaking of coffee, Chip has decided he is a coffee drinker now. I think it smells divine, but never have been a drinker. My dad said when I moved to South America that I would come back drinking coffee because Columbia had such great coffee. Nope. I never got into it. Yet as for Chip, when he decides he is doing something he goes full fledged. He had 8 cups of coffee Sunday morning before 11:00. He was so geeked out that he quite possibly hallucinated. He took Foster to Grenada for a roadtrip and I asked how it went. Chip said he and Foster talked the whole way there and the whole way back. I believe him. Of course with Foster it's a one sided conversation because all he does is smile and breathe back alley seafood dumpster dog breath in your face. He's the sweetest. Anyway, they had fun boy time while the girls stayed home and cleaned.......which I didn't mind because it was long overdue.

We have a house guest for the week. Brent and Leanne Davis are on vacation living it up on the beach so we are taking care of sweet Libby. She is such a good little girl, has a lot more energy than my 9, 7 & 6 year old four legged babies. Foxy Mama has not taken a liking to Libby and Kate Lou is pissy because there is a dog in her house. Heaven Forbid! Foster, the complete sport who always takes one for the team is very very nice to Libby and makes her feel at home. I will try to catch a few pics of how much she loves Foster. She likes his back alley seafood dumpster breath. My plan is to take a few funny photos of Libby like she is on vacation living it up while they are gone and give them to the Davis family upon their return. I've thought about taking a photo of her with sunglasses on driving the boat. Maybe making a frozen margarita and putting her on the patio table. Chilling out in the hammock. Take her over to the in laws pool. Just some fun candid shots you know, like the traveling Gnome. I'll be sure to post them if I get to do it.

Today is my doctor appointment. It's at 3:15. It's going to be a busy afternoon. Doctor at 3:15, then we hope to meet up with Chip's step mom, Joyce, who has a doctors appointment in Jackson as well. Together we are going to Women's Hospital to tour the facility where Baby Hawkins will be born.

After that we are going to visit my friend Tasha who is at Women's Hospital this morning having a big surgery, please say a special prayer for her and her doctors as they do a double subcutaneous mastectomy. It's a little more complicated than that, so pray for her speedy recovery because she has a wonderful little boy who will turn 1 tomorrow and a beautiful little 7 year old that adores her mommy. Thank goodness her husband is such a great man and will have everyone and everything under control during her recovery.

Once we visit Tasha, we will go to Target and get the badly needed mommy boppy pillow that Jennifer L. and Lauren recommend. I am willing to try anything for a few minutes of shut eye. If I can twist Chip's arm I'd like to go to JC Penney and see what the baby bedding looks like in real life and then we plan to eat dinner with Joyce and head back to Kosciusko.

Oh yeah! Before we leave the doctor, we will set up our next appointment for August and that should be when we get to find out what it is! I am so ready. I really dislike surprises. Between my being an OCD planner organizer and Chip and I are from the instant gratification generation we need to know the sex of this baby.....right now.

PS - Congrats to my friend Susan who found out it's a boy! That is exciting news!

Top 5

Back in May of 2007 I had a post with this same title, but it was a different kind of "Top 5". Your mind set changes a little when you are pregnant, but the Top 5 conversation from May 07 does not become null and void once you have kids. Truth be known you probably at times wish you'd be whisked away. All girls know the truth, love their husbands and it's truly a non issue. It's fictional, but a girl can always dream.

Now back to today's Top 5. Since I got such awesome feedback yesterday about bedding and high chairs I figured why stop there?

Your job today, since you probably don't have anything else to do and I know this because you are reading my blog, is for those of you that are moms or dads already to post the Top 5 things that have either saved the day with appeasing your kids (any age) or things you highly recommend I not live without. For those of you, like myself, who have no idea about parenthood (or even if you do); feel free to list your Top 5 guys/gals or if you're not as open about that you can list the Top 5 places you'd like to travel.

No pressure....I mean really, what do you have to do right now anyway?

Bedding & Such

I have made an executive decision.

I've known from the beginning that we weren't going to change the color of the baby's room, it's a sage green and is unisex. I've also known that I've wanted bedding for the crib that is very neutral, no theme, and could be accented with pieces to accessorize in dark pinks if girl or blues if boy. And I have found just the bedding and I know you all have been as worried about it as I have....right?

It comes from JC Penney, so if I hate it then I can take it back with no fuss. It's extremely affordable and washable....even though Tasha said baby spit up stains would be hard to get out of this. I told her I could cover it up with a blanket or toy to disguise it if Spray n' Wash doesn't work.

Then my mind wondered; do babies often spit up on their crib bumper? I can understand the sheets, but the bumper? I have so much to figure out. Then I snapped out of it because I was so excited I had found what I'd been looking for!

You ready to see it?

Wait....before you see it I want you to imagine the diaper hanger thing having an initial monogrammed on it and accents of dark pinks or light blues throughout the room...I'm thinking chocolate browns too. The crib sheet can be any color, even polka dotted! It requires imagination. It's very plain, I know - I love it.

(P.S. - we have a double bed in the baby room that has a bed spread on it that I inherited from my grandmother. Oddly enough it almost looks like this with the circles and creamy color. So that is good I don't have to go and search for something to match the crib bedding to the regular bedding. Just accessorize with throw pillows and stuffed animals! Voila!)

Also, I need advice. I found a high chair I really like at Bed Bath & Beyond. I need you to list the pros and cons of this specific high chair because it doesn't have a bunch of padding and plastic, therefore I don't know if it's truly functional for a kiddo or not. I think it would look good in my house, comparatively speaking, but I guess that shouldn't be why I get it....it's about the baby right?
I can't help but think about my old timey wooden high chair with rattan seating. Hush, I'm not THAT old. It didn't have padding or bins to catch dropped food and I turned out alright.

Ok, so these are my latest finds. As much as I love them both you won't hurt my feelings if you need to tell me that such a light color is a really bad idea for bedding or that the stick figure highchair looks like an accident waiting to happen. I need this input. I have NO clue about anything which is why I turn to ALL of you for advice. You are my friends and I expect you to tell me.......you know I'd tell you!

Here are the links in case you need to research a little more on the bedding and high chair.

http://www3.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6E.aspx?DeptID=62438&CatID=62730&GrpTyp=ENS&ItemID=14e79f0&attrtype=&attrvalue=&CMID=62438%7c62644%7c62645&Fltr=&Srt=&QL=F&IND=9&cmVirtualCat=&CmCatId=62438626446264562730#GroupItemNameSection0

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/Product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=16427861&

Headache

Sorry I haven't had the opportunity to give you any photos of the fun filled weekend. I've been battling a headache for the past day or so and just can't bring myself to do much of anything once I get home from work. Plus, my hubby is a computer hog so once he turns into a computer I will have no excuses.

I have been trying to reflect on things I've eaten that may have triggered this headache, Chip thinks I'm not getting enough protein. Being queasy I only want bagels and pasta and pop tarts and Gatorade and sprite. I've been eating fruit and yesterday had a turkey sandwich, but can't put my thumb on the problem.

On the way to work this morning I thought of something. Last time I had this bad of a headache was during Relay for Life on June 5th-6th...yesterday was July 6th. Is that a coincidence or does your body do something weird every month during the same time since Aunt Flo sure isn't visiting? Am I some new found medical mystery or is it just a coincidence? I guess we will see if I have a headache come August 6th it should be submitted to the Medical Journals.

Either way, I need a nap or at least just a few hours to "rest my eyes." One day I will have the energy to post all 100 and some odd of the photos on my camera. I promise.

Famous Doctor

Some of you know, but most of you do not know, that a famous person is delivering my baby.
Yes, it's true! Dr. Darden North not only makes sure my "business" is in order he also has a side business and writes murder/mystery books (oh that was funny and you can't deny it.)

Check out his site here.

After reading his biography I found out he majored in Zoology. Which will come in handy if I birth a hippo, meerkat or maybe a penguin. I love penguins, I hope I have a penguin!

I think I will get his books and have him sign them for the Baby since someone famous will be bringing my baby into the world.......it only seems appropriate, right? He should just give every baby born an autographed collection for free........nah, that's probably how he makes his money by mommy's like me that only feel it appropriate to have all books signed for their kid. It's all part of his brilliant marketing scheme.

Anyway, thought you all would like to see what he's all about. I certainly found it interesting even with his cheesy smoke filled photo on the homepage.

Love you Dr. North, you are the best!

It looks like his website shows you can connect with him on Facebook. I think I'll ask him to be my friend. I hope he doesn't diss me, that would not be cool.

The Showcase Showdown

Ok, ok. One more day without photos and a legit post. My apologies.
Last night Chip and I were both wanting Subway and I went against my better judgement and got the meatball sub. I love it so, but it didn't really "hit the spot."

After we ate, my wonderful hubby said he would help me go to the store and get our grocery list. I made two separate lists and he took one half of the store and I took the other. We met in the middle and then he decided that he was going to buy his grocery basket and I would buy mine. He got the raw end of the deal with all the cokes, dog food, paper towels, detergent, etc., but he didn't mind.

He went to one line and I went into the one next to it. It was super hilarious because it was like the Showcase Showdown on the Price is Right. Chip was yelling across the register that he guessed his basket was $135 worth of food and so I yelled back that I guessed mine was $75. The people in line behind us were so confused and then once they figured out what we were doing they were cracking up. My check out line and cashier were rooting for me and Chip's entourage was rooting for him. In the end Chip was the closest in price range, but as the Showcase Showdown goes he guessed too high because (queue the Bob Barker voice) The actual retail price was $129.00. Mine was $83.00...........since I was so close does that mean that I win ALL the groceries?

Another fun oldie but goodie we play is Shop Til You Drop. Remember that game? You run around the store and only get the things you need in the fastest amount of time. Well, we play that too. One of us sits in the car and times the other one from the time the car door closes to the time they walk out of the store with the goods. First time we did Shop til You Drop with Chip's mom in the car I think she was confused. She turned to Chip and said concerned, "Do you guys do this often?" Yes, yes we do. My record is 4 minutes. I bought dog food waited in line, talked to no one and got out of there. Chip on the other hand has the standing record of 2 minutes. Ladies and gentlemen to this day I would not believe it had I not seen it with my own two eyes. He bought margarita mix and something else, ran into 2 people he knew, checked out and STILL got out of there in 2 minutes. That is a world record somewhere I'm sure. It's gotta be.

All of you probably think we are lunatics, we may be, but we absolutely despise going to the grocery store and must make a game out of it to cope. I'm mostly the problem because once I got my drivers license between my mom owning a restaurant and my boss at a law firm I worked at in high school loving to cook, I spent most of my time after school in the grocery store running errands. I can recall I went to the grocery store over 6 times in one day (three of the times for butter, and I still don't know what kind of butter to buy - ever) So in my older age I only go to the grocery store once a month. Get the things we need and if I forget something then I wait until I can't do without it to go back.

Anyway, back to my evening. We got back from Wally-Martinez and put away groceries then the meatball sub needed to tell me something. I had been feeling nauseous once Chip started taking about BBQ chicken as he held up the Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce on isle 4. I politely asked him if we could not talk about it. Then on isle 6 with the tacos, he asked again if that sounded good, I said tight lipped "mmm hmmm." Long story short, I'm much better now, thanks.

So this is why I did not post my pictures of the weekend........I was too busy playing Showcase Showdown and not feeling too swift. Maybe I can post tonight after Wednesday Night Swim, I mean Wednesday Night Prayer.

Here I Am!

I'm here! I started to blog yesterday but didn't have enough time to upload all the pictures for my entry. I will try to do so tonight. It was a busy weekend!

P.S. I am so sad. None of you guessed my movie quote!
It was from the 1994 movie "Reality Bites"
If you have not seen this movie it has a bunch of good one liners and a killer soundtrack. It was directed by Ben Stiller and has actors like Ethan Hawke, Winona Ryder, Ben Stiller, Renee Zellweger, Janeane Garofalo and a cameo from Andy Dick. Definitely a rainy afternoon movie.

BBQ, SnoCone & Sit Ups

Today is the June Jam up on the town Square. They have a BBQ Battle going on between about 6 or 7 teams both locally and from out of state. Being that my office is on the Square it's all I've thought about most of the morning. They started up around 10am selling plates and sandwiches and will keep on cooking on into the night with a band to start up around 7 or so. I'm not sure what time the judging is but our friends Mr. Fred and Chivas are competing. They won most all of the awards given last year except for 1, I think. They go around competing often and just love it. I love it too because we get to eat their food all the time. For lunch I had a pulled pork sandwich with Fred's famous beans and slaw. It was Divine. For dinner I plan on eating ribs.

Our plan for tonight is to go up to the Square once it cools off a little bit, take our lawn chairs and hang out with a bunch of friends at Mr. Fred and Chivas' booth/tent. Our Wednesday night swim group will be there along with many many others. Afterwards the party will move to Mr. Fred's house where we will more than likely graze on left over BBQ. Yum. I have officially invited all of you - Tasha won't mind.

So anyway funny funny things are going on in the world of my tum tum.

1st of all I am thoroughly enjoying a cherry sno cone as we speak. Why is this weird? Because cherry would probably be my last choice for a sno cone, next to grape - which I have been eating grape jolly ranchers instead if my favorite green apple - I don't even know who I am anymore!

Then 2nd my lower abdomen is so sore, it's like I've done 65,000 sit ups.....but as we all know I have not even come close to doing that in my lifetime. I can only assume my muscles, ligaments, organs and baby are all doing their thing and making things uncomfortable. To all my mommy friends out there......is my assumption true or should I be worrying about something? I am so naive.

Movie Quote: What movie did this line come from?

"Evian is naive spelled backwards. "

Sorry I don't have awesome prizes to give away to the winner like Pioneer Woman does; but I appreciate our friendship and hopefully that will be a good enough prize for you.

Maybe? Maybe Not? Maybe you want a pair of $400 Lucchese boots too?

Wednesday Night Therapy

Last night after a long day of work I came home and helped Chip study for his midterm test. He did so well and knew every definition off the cuff that he deserved to take a break and so we treated ourselves to KFC and a swim out at the Country Club. It was so fun because our friends Fred & Tasha came with their little girl, Britlon, JJ got to come hang out, as well as Hart & Whitney with Tanner. It was very relaxing and fun, I hate I didn't get any pictures!

We decided that we would try to come every Wednesday night.....our Wednesday Night Church, if you will. Britlon, who is 7, said she didn't mind it as long as there was No Kissing! She said this because Chip had given me a little kiss a few minutes earlier. Since our Church has no true denomination or rules just good fellowship, I told her that kissing was part of our worship.

Tanner was a swimming little frog, he is 9 months. Whitney would hold him and he'd just cruise along the top of the water wiggling his tiny hiney and kicking. I think he had a great time. I think we all had a great time! JJ and I got the scoop on all things baby and still have so much to learn from Tasha and Whitney. I can't wait until next Wednesday for more friends, fun and fellowship......it's very therapeutic.

Congrats to my friends!

The hardest thing other than keeping your baby a secret is keeping your closest of friends pregnancy a secret too! So it was triple whammy for Chip and I.......but we have finally been given the go ahead and are really excited and shocked at the closeness of all of our friends due dates. (And I swear it was not planned)

JJ and Allen Warrington are expecting Baby Warrington January 17, 2010. I got to see sonogram pictures last night and you can make out the lips and eyes. It's wild!

Elizabeth (Steele) "Ed" and Mike Kaiser are expecting Baby Kaiser January 18, 2010. Her appointment was yesterday and she got to see a spinal cord and the left and right side of the brain.

It's amazing how different all of our sonograms were and how rapid the baby is developing just to be a few days apart (I'm due January 14th).

I am secret free for this week, well as of today. Unless there is something someone needs to tell me? Keeping secrets reminds me of when Daniel was going to propose to sm2 on her birthday. I probably ruined the moment when I hadn't heard from them by like 10:00 so I had to call. She swears to me I didn't interrupt the proposal, but I was so giddy like a kid at Christmas for her. That was a fun secret and falls into the category of hard secrets to not shout from the rooftop. If you check out her blog then you can see her and hubby are super cute and are expecting Baby Martin this year....they are going to be the fun parents that everyone wishes they had.

My friend Marsha let me in on the importance of knowing who is pregnant the same time you are. This way you know who will be in your kids class or age range for play dates, etc. Even though I have told you all that Kosciusko is the reproduction factory of the South - maybe you will believe me now. Don't freak out but there are 14 of my friends (including me) just in Kosciusko that are currently "with child." 2 of them did have their baby last week, but still. How crazy is that? Now counting friends that live in Oxford, TN, and TX = 3 and then there is my sister in law, Jane Claire, who lives on the Coast due in December. For those of you that are still trying to add up the babies due between last week and January that is 18 kids....well 19 because Christy is having twins. I guess Chip and I need to not only start a college fund for our kiddo, but a birthday party present fund so we can draw interest and afford gifts for all of Baby Hawkins friends birthday parties.

Deer Flies

We have a new sport at the Hawkins residence.

It's much like tennis, but not as strenuous. Let me show you how it works...

This is Chip

This is Chip with a Fly Swatter

Any Questions?

Baby Hawkins 1st Picture

I know, I know......I am being "that" person! "Look at my baby, Look at my baby!"

Here is a picture of Baby Hawkins. Does it look like a Hill Hawkins? Does it look like a Weslyn Hawkins? I guess we will find out in August what it is.........this is only the 1st photo at 9 weeks 4 days.

Ok, so I think I just publicly named our baby if it's a girl and haven't told my husband. Weslyn, is my favorite name and on the top of our / my list.

Grandfater = Wesley & My middle name = Lynn = = = Weslyn

Here is Baby Hawkins 1st Picture.

Here is Baby Hawkins 1st Picture Explained

(It looks like Baby Hawkins wrote the words,

but it was me and my lack of skill in writing in notepad)

This is super fuzzy being that it was taken from a cell phone from our sonogram. I will try to get the real pictures scanned when I have a minute. I will also try to upload the sonogram but it is not being very cooperative.

Hello, Goodbye

Chip and I had a GREAT weekend with my dad and Pam. The Childers/Hawkins Families always seem to plan their schedule around food. Since I am spoiled and have my own personal chef, let me tell you what Chef Chippy made for us while they were here. Thursday we had homemade spaghetti (Chip only eats his spaghetti) it's made with venison and a blend of Chippy Spices. Friday lunch we ate at the Cafe with Adrienne & Ed, then for dinner Chip made Cornish Game Hen with a Teriyaki Glaze, lima beans and a spring salad. Saturday we made sandwiches (pastrami with Swiss on Rye) and went to the Country Club and played in the boat and swam then came home to prepare Father's Day dinner for dad and Pam, Charlie and Joyce (Chip's dad & step mom) and Meryl (step sister) and little Shane Preston (nephew). We had Shrimp with cream cheese wrapped in bacon on the grill then smothered with guiriere cheese and crisp green beans and pineapple salad. Geez, it was all so good! We all had a good time.

Sunday afternoon we ate Amerigo and then dropped them off at the airport. We came home and I tackled my closet. After all the good food and expansion of my belt I decided that a little preventative maintenance was necessary in order to prevent a pregnant woman from being a sad hormonal blah every morning. I went through my closet and took out all clothes that I may want to wear, but can't due to inappropriate tightness. You all know what I mean. In March, after I'd lost 25lbs I went up in the closet and pulled down tons of clothes that I had and could now wear, but it was like - Hello, Goodbye - because the clothes I could pull off 10lbs ago are being packed up and sent back to their resting place in the attic. Sigh...I was so proud of my new found old wardrobe....just to be teased for a few weeks. Now, it's a little more serious because the old clothes are taking new members with them to the attic. It's ok though. I did the whole, "stop pretending Rachel, it's not cute" turn in the mirror before I packed them away while others I just saved the humiliation and pain and tossed them into the pile without a final spin. It was very painful but in the end I feel better about it.

I am of the impression it will be easier to wake up and walk into my closet and say, these are your options suck it up; instead of pulling out the clothes with the "inappropriate tightness" and trying to pull it off. My closet is a sad sad place to visit these days I'm trying to change that. For the next 7 months (even in the winter) you will be seeing me in my $7 cotton Wal-Mart shorts over and over and over. I bought grey and blue and in multiple sizes to accommodate my growth and prevent sadness. Don't talk about me, they are my new favorite shorts and you will get tired of seeing them.....I promise. In the mean time I am not sad.......until next month when I have to go through this process again.

It's Really There

Being the visual learner I am, once seeing the baby in my tummy after the sonogram it became official and real to me. Before hand I knew it was there but I couldn't see it and was like this tapeworm makes me hungry all day. Then I started feeling bloated and was really concerned that there were 2 tapeworms in there. I asked the sonogram lady twice....."Are you sure there is only one baby in there?" Chip and I talked about it before our appointment, what if it's twins. I personally think it would be great, I'm all about killing 2 birds with one stone and productiveness (not so much re productiveness) but Chip wasn't so sure about the whole twin thing. (Sorry, Christy) I said what would you do if it were twins...he said "Ummm...faint." Which looking back now he did wait to get up from the chair to come see the sonogram AFTER I asked how many babies were in there. My lone little 1.1 inch triathlon runner, swimmer, bicycler was just a kicking away during the sonogram. It was absolutely weird.

Back flash.....April 9th, 2006 (the day after our wedding). We are driving down to Alabama to go on our honeymoon cruise. Groom says, "Hey, there is something I really need to tell you." The new brides stomach does a flip flop, "Uhhh, ok honey.......what is it?" Groom, "Well, I really hope that you aren't planning on our kids being athletic because I mean, I never really was athletic and not sure that it's possible for our kids to be." Bride, "Well, I guess that will be ok."

Now look at that little green medium sized olive in my belly just a running running running. He/She may not be able to do a triathlon once out of my tum tum, but we can at least say at one point in his/her life they were very athletic.

Mother's Day Gift

Good Gawd, this has been the hardest secret I've ever had to keep in all of my life! The weekend of Mother's Day, Chip and I found out we are expecting our first baby! I know, shock right? Well not so much for us, we were somewhat looking forward to a little one to help complete the circle. We knew it was too early in the game to tell people and the blue line on the home pregnancy test couldn't turn the right shade of blue for Chip to believe it. It didn't matter, we were in it for real. So........

For Mother's Day this year Katie Lou sent my mom and step mom this picture.

That Katie, she is so silly and loves to have her picture taken.

My step mom, Pam, asked if we were getting a new puppy and my mom who always receives pictures of Katie was just admiring Katie's glamorous picture taking pose and not reading her shirt. Once they both figured it out I think I heard them scream from 700 miles away. All my mom could say was "Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?" I was on the phone with my dad when Pam opened her email and Pam must have had a puzzled look on her face because dad was asking what does the email say? Pam said, "It's Katie Lou in a t-shrit that says I'm going to be a big sister" and my dad paused and said nonchalantly, "Are you pregnant?"

Chip's family was quite hilarious too. We went to Adrienne's (Chip's mom) gave her a Mother's Day card and were just hanging out on the couch. Adrienne asked what's been going on and Chip in the most normal of voices say, "Not much, Rachel is having a baby." I am pretty sure that electricity shot through the chair Adrienne was in because she jumped up like she had been electrocuted and her eyes almost popped out of her head. She was nothing less than shocked, surprised and elated. Breaking the news to Charlie and Joyce (Chip's dad and step mom) was a little more laid back maybe not as surprised, but positively the most emotional of all 4 sets of parents. Joyce had been saying her Novena Prayers to St. Therese for us to have a baby and my goodness it must have worked over night. We all had "happy tears" as we shared the news.

Everyone was shocked and that's the way we wanted it.

Since we didn't have a sonogram and I had peed on too many home pregnancy test to fit into one 4x6 photo to send the parents......this is what I gave them.
Warning: If you are hormonal you will cry every time you read it.

I do not have a face to see,

Or put inside a frame.

I do not have soft cheeks to kiss.

I don't yet have a name.

Not yet can you hold my tiny hands,

Nor whisper in my ear.

It's still too soon to sing a song,

Or cuddle me so near.

But all that will change come next year;

When they say I am due.

I am your newest grandchild;

And I can't wait until I meet you!

All I ask between now and then

Is your love for me to grow.

I promise I'll be worth the wait;

Just think of all the joy we'll know!

So as you're waiting patiently,

Please pray lots of prayers for me.

I cannot wait to be a part

Of this wonderful family!

Happy Mother’s Day 2009

Chip, Rachel & Baby

Ode to Gina

Gina is my friend that I work with, she is also the keeper of the candy on the 3rd floor. She is always very nice to everyone and I felt like I needed to pay a little tribute to her.
I wrote a couple of Haiku's in her honor.

Gina is my friend.
Skittles makes my mouth happy.
She gives me candy.


Provides me with junk.
That ends up on my big butt.
You are nice to me.


Happy smiling girl.
Hi, Barry Winford's office.
Today is Friday.

Thanks, Gina. You are a great friend!

Hot Chocolate in the Summer

I think I have stooped to a new low. Have you ever been so hungry that you considered eating the powder from the hot chocolate mix that's been sitting in your desk drawer for eons? No, no silly. I didn't do it but I really really considered it until I found on the box where it said it expired 2 years ago. I tossed it and now am back to square one. I guess I can wait, I probably won't blow away or anything. I could go to the 3rd Floor again on one of my Tasmanian devil tornadic guilt sprees, but I will refrain. The guilt is what hurts the most.
Ah ha! Guess what I found....the squished and melted Fiber One bar in my purse! JACKPOT! I should probably add Oats & Chocolate to the things I like list- better yet, Fiber One will officially be kicking Special K off the list.

Guess who's coming to dinner?

Ok, so it's not so much just dinner, but for the weekend. Next weekend (the 18th -21st) my dad and Pam are coming to visit me and Chip. They have only been to Kosciusko once and that was when we got married. It will be fun to have them in our home, show them our home and then maybe go to Wal-Mart. Just kidding, there is more to do around here than go to Wal-Mart.

They arrive on Thursday afternoon and I'm not sure what the plan is, but they said to make no plans because they just want to hang out and relax. That's a good thing because after Wal-Mart I just don't have that much scheduled.

Friday, I have to work so I figure maybe they will want to landscape my yard??? Wishful thinking?? Dad said something about helping us find a small old house to move to the back yard to fix up for a guest house or a play house for Chip....as if our adult tree house was not enough? We'd love to have something like that back there and my dad is the guru of making a treasure out of trash for nothing. He should have his own HGTV show, I swear. His latest endeavour was to move a house he bought for $400 onto a different lot, fix it up, and sell it. He's not yet finished with it, but the appraisal came in at like $160,000 or $180,000 I can't remember. It's ridiculous. Anyway, I hope something comes of our house hunt including the winning of the lottery to pay for this potential project.
Then I think that we are planning a ski / boating day out at the Country Club on Saturday. Chip will cook his famous shrimp recipe for a great Father's Day Dinner and then maybe they will finish landscaping my yard and we will take them back to the airport Sunday evening.

Now the things we have to do before they get here........Sigh. They are things that should have been done a while back but much like Leah Maria, special events give us reasons to whip everything into shape at a faster pace.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Relay for Life

Hey all. I have finally had a chance to settle from my busy week last week. It was a melting pot of activities every night apart from working 8 hours each day. Friday night was our local Relay for Life and I just have to say that this little town never ceases to amaze me. It's been about 7 or 8 months of coordinating teams, making sure they have everything they need, recruiting more teams and pretty much realizing they are all very self sufficient. I am so proud of the teams, sponsors, donors, volunteers and others that helped raise over $90,000 to help benefit the American Cancer Society. Money is still coming in and will be until August 30th. Our goal was $100,000 and I can't imagine why we won't hit it. Amazing. Amazing that during the economic times over 30 teams and hundreds of local volunteers raised such a large amount of money in about 5 or 6 months. I still can't get my head around it. It leaves me speechless and that is something that rarely happens.

Before & After

I figured you have all waited so patiently to see the before and after pics of the boat. Here it is. You can see why I didn't post before pictures without having the after pictures ready....you must have vision.

Before: Faded Glory with a busted out windshield. She looks like a lost puppy with mange.

After: All shined up like a new pair of shoes!

Before: Front passenger seat with busted glass and rotten wood and moldy seats. View from the back. I need a tetanus shot!

After: So fresh and so clean clean. Juan's got that tuck and roll going on! He matched it to the original.

Well guys, there she is. We are proud. If you want to come with us this afternoon we will be taking her out and having fun in the sun! If not today, there will be other ample opportunities this summer........just don't forget to pitch in for the gas. Chip said she's a guzzler.

Here is a picture of our summer supplies - fresh out of the attic!

In loving memory of the old boat. She was a good one and served her purpose, but she's letting another family enjoy her now. Farewell old boat you will not be forgotten.

Happy 100th!

Call the blogging Police because it's true........three days in a row. Count them 1-2-3; Wednesday- Thursday - Friday I have blogged. Hell has bound to have frozen over even though it's 2,000 degrees outside. I'm trying to be better my friends, really. I mean I've had this blog for over 3 years and this marks my 100th post! There should be kazoos and streamers and confetti everywhere! I would like to make a speech.

AhhUhmmm...

Dearest No Really....This is My Life Reader(s),

These past 3 years have been extremely life changing for me. Each of you have helped me evolve from a roller coaster of emotions after moving to The Land of Koz. There have been moments of insanity and a few scary times, there has been a bit of humor and the silliness of those oh so lovable babies of mine. You have been my sounding board for everything. I mostly bore you all with a bunch of blabber that looking back seems dumb.....but it's my dumb blabber and all of my two loyal readers keep coming back for more. Even when I fall into a coma you continually keep checking my page - having faith that one day, one cold cold day, I will blog again. Unlike you all, I don't have a green thumb nor am I Martha Stewart, I never take the literary time I need to like you all do or blog as often as I should, but you all love me anyway. And I love you guys too!

This all started as a means of communication between me and my Oxford girls smsquared, showerfreshgarden, thejanii, the findings of me, and mel-o-drama (who is now famous and switched to bitchin' fiction) Anyway, I don't forget my roots and my peeps. You all were my friends when I was my only friend here in the Land of Koz; and for that I am eternally grateful.

We have all been through so much! Moves, marriage, jobs, trips, birth, birthdays, family time and even just getting things off our chest. So to all my readers I thank you for the past three years they have been phenomenal. I hope that within the next three years I can provide another 100 posts (no promises).

In the mean time, this is my 100th post speech - - as for what you have done the other 995 days of the three years I have not posted is a non issue, right? I still appreciate the daily click just to see if I had written something. That is true friendship or boredom.

Love you all,
RCH

Guess what I got?

A Hammock!

How fun is that? I've been talking about a hammock for 2 years and finally I found one I like that was on sale for Father's Day. My Chippy bought it for me and hung it up by the tree house.

He tied it to the trees and decided he would be the brave one and test it out......I truly wish I had a video camera. My hubby is the most graceful fall on your bootie while landing on your back hammock tester I've ever met. He just sort of looked at me like "are you gonna help me up?" but I was laughing so hard I couldn't do anything. I am horrible, why is it so funny when people fall? He too was laughing so I wasn't being mean.

After a couple of trial and error knots he figured it out. It looks kinda high in the air, but it works once you are in it.....if the mosquitos don't carry you away!

I will post a picture of the hammock once I take one. I am going to have to learn to keep a camera on me at all times to get action shots during Chip's projects.....you all miss out on the hilarity of our lives. We are constantly cracking up, and wouldn't have it any other way!

Thanks for the hammock poo, I love it and you!

It was the grunk!

I was sitting at work and fell into a funk. I then remembered the 3rd floor candy drawer and could hear it in the distance calling my name - telling me it would make me feel better if I just had a couple of the mini snickers, mini kit kat, mini 3 musketeers, mini york peppermint patties, mini hershey's special dark chocolates, mini milky way, mini dark chocolate milky way and my weakness the mini heath bars.

I tried to fight it off but the grunk that lives in my head went to the elevator (didn't even take the stairs,) went to the 3rd floor and rummaged through the candy drawer and took out every single one of the above mentioned candies even two of some and went back the grunks desk and ate all of it. I kid you not. I consumed no less than 490731468726 mini candies. I had so much chocolate that I had to go refill my water bottle because I got parched.

The cleaning lady will empty my trash can and think I had fallen into a diabetic coma or had one heck of a party at my desk, but no...it was only me, all by my lonesome in such a short time span that consumed all of that sugary goodness. I'd go through my garbage and count how many wrappers I have in there, but I don't know that I can count that high....nor do I think I have the energy to bend over.

No such luck

I had full intentions of updating what my page looks like, but have not had the opportunity.

Maybe when I update the format I can upload the before pictures of the 'new' boat. No after just yet because she's not done!

Chip and I have worked really hard on making her pur-dy. Chip took the upholstery to Jackson yesterday to be redone. This go round I am not doing it myself....I want everything done right. It's not like I didn't recover the seats right on the old boat, but it was not any type of fancy tuck and roll job. More like fold staple then staple again and then maybe again over here. This is Chip's dream boat and I don't want it rigged up.

I did put a little elbow grease on her last night, Step 3 of the 3 step shine process, and I think I need to go back again and do step 2 a couple times and then go onto step 3. When we got her the paint was not a bit shiny - more like a big blob cloud. You will see what I am talking about once I upload pictures. You have to have vision. Most all of my friends are creative so either you will think we are on drugs or see the same beauty we do!

We don't know how red-neck-ish it would be if we named her. We want something quirky and fun. I'm up for suggestions....maybe we can have a contest once she is finished.

Well, we are going to New Orleans this weekend to hang out with my brother and his lady friend. Maybe hit up the Jazz Fest, maybe not. It will be great fun to play with the always ridiculously stupid Jason. Should be in for a good time! I will try to remember my camera so I can get evidence of the silliness!

Don't know if I will talk to you guys again until I return. If not, have a safe weekend!

Coma

I think I have been in a coma for a few months....but don't worry - I am now awake. I am caught up on everyones blogs and feel like I have missed half of their lives. One friend got married, two friends are traveling, one friend is expecting her first baby, one friend had her baby baptized and one friend hosted a nice Easter party and does fun creative stuff with her kids all the time.

I on the other hand am boring.

I can think of a couple of fun things though like I have lost 25 lbs. We had our 3 year anniversary. We sold our boat but just to buy another one a couple of weeks later. I cut Katie's ears short - they are like cute tiny nubs, she looks funny but don't tell her. I went to TX to visit family (fun to see them, not fun occasion). I did some yard work. Bought a pressure washer - it's like TIVO, how did I live without it before?

Oh yeah, and then the best thing that has happened to me in 3 years.........my Chippy is home! The hell you say! It's true. My husband, the guy that after 6 months of marriage became my weekend husband while he worked far far away to bring home the bacon during the week will now be providing local bacon. He's baaaccckkkk...not in some frightening horror movie tone but in the shout it from the roof tops glee "he's baacckkk!"

It's fun with my Chippy home. It's like we are married, what a concept. We get to hang out all the time and talk and do productive things around the house and I can still go to bed early. It's a dream come true! I am still having to learn about sharing the bed with one more person because me, Foster, Foxy and Katie have called dibs on the king size bed for forever now. The pups are like, who do you think you are sleeping on my side of the bed? They get put out about it.

Anyway, Hubby has opened up an independent firm and since times are slow it's the opportune time to take a few classes since he only lacks a few hours to have a degree in finance, his specialty. So until transition is complete yours truly from Truly My Life will be bringing home the proverbial bacon.

I love bacon....it reminds me of Jim Gaffigans' latest stand up from King Baby. Since I do not have access to youtube at my current locale please make a point to go and google - Jim Gaffigan bacon. You will not regret it.

I miss you all and will try to be more involved in your lives. Please don't disconnect me from your links on your blog. I will try to get out of my coma.

Parties and Rubber Bands

I guess you all have stopped checking my blog because I don't ever write. I completely understand 2 months is a long time to go without writing.
Tonight I sit here in my robe on the back patio after just getting out of an extremely hot bath sipping on wine and conversing with my laptop. A long overdue date.

Things have been really hectic lately - I will complete the third and final Christmas party that I have planned in the past 3 weeks come Saturday. That's what I get for not showing up to my extra curricular activities planning committees. Live and let learn - right?

I am looking forward to this Saturdays party though....it's The Hawkins Christmas Party. Always a fun event. Chip and I invite tons of people and just let loose. We understand it's an awkward day (the Saturday before Christmas) but you'd be surprised how many people are ready to leave their family gatherings to tie one on with about 40 of their closest friends. We try to provide a good time.

I don't have any holiday plans. Thursday is Christmas and a day off from work. I hate looking at it like that, but it's the new found truth of my life. Work. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. The Friday after Christmas when I get off work my mother in law and I plan to travel to the coast to visit my sister in law. I'm looking forward to it. Chip will be at his 5th Annual Mountain Man Retreat and out of site doing boy things with his boy friends.

Once we get back from the Coast, that next week Chip, his mom and I will be traveling to Dallas to watch the Cotton Bowl. Go Rebs!!

Lots of changes going on at the workplace. I think they are all positive. A triple increase in my partner and my workload, but it's a learning experience. Today I placed a rubber band on my wrist so anytime I talk smack, I pop it. My wrist was red when I left work. Trying to keep my chin up - it's only been 2 days since the new process started. Therefore the blog, because I feel either I will not be able write for a while or I will need you guys as an outlet. We shall see.

It's been so long have I told ya'll we sold the Ghetto House? What a monkey off my back that was! Now hubby is wanting to take on different ventures in land. You know what they say about land - They just don't make it anymore. Hardy Har Har. Sigh....my patience are thin, thus I revert back to the rubber band.

2009 will be great! I have no doubts! Chippy and I are on a great start to losing weight. I've lost like 15lbs and he has lost almost 20. We have the Biggest Loser bet going on with Hawkins vs. Overstreet (his sister and brother in law). The stakes are $1,250 come May 1st and which ever couple has lost the most % in body weight wins the pot. Go Hawkins!

The 4 legged babies are doing well. Foster has even joined the Biggest Loser competition and is down from 116 to 107! Go Bubs! We all wish we could eat Science Diet r/d aka "The Magic Food" and lose such a high percentage of our body weight!

That's my update. I hope you and your families have a safe and joyous holiday season!

Much love, RCH

Meet our new couch

I love our new couch! I think it was made for our house!
The Ashley sofa won, but not by popular demand.

http://www.betterrenovations.com/Bermuda/Store/ProductImageBrowser.aspx?productId=39494

This weekend, the poor couch got a good taste of how it will spend the rest of it's life. Hubby never once got up off of it. He even slept on it most of the night. I mentioned we may need to go ahead and purchase another center cushion from him butt pivoting from one end to the other every 15-20 minutes.