WONDERFUL WEEKEND!

This weekend has been so wonderful that I hate to see it end.  I sure hope that everyone had a great July 4th.  

Jon, Tara, the kids and mom came over to the house yesterday for some good old fashioned bbq and fun in the sun.  Here are some pics from yesterday..

Come on in, the water is fine..

My mommy

Dante and his mommy

What a smile

Bubble time.

I think this boy ate more soap than food.  He kept putting the wand up to his lips..It was hysterical.  Poor little guy got in a fight with a shrub and ended up with this nasty little scrape on his cheek.  You should see the other guy.

the chef

YUMMY!!!!

I thought I would throw in a pic of my new herb garden..

Here is one of the shrubs that I planted last year...beautiful!

WEDDING AND MATERNITY PHOTOS!

Hey ya'll..did you miss me? I missed you. I'm sorry that I've been away for so long, but my friend Paula.....you all remember Paula right? Well, she's a bad girl..a real bad bad girl. You see, Paula took my arm and shoved it behind my back and twisted....REAL HARD. She kept twisting until I cried UNCLE. And ever since then..are you ready for this? Ever since then...Are you sitting down? Ever since then..I mean ever since she so brutally twisted my arm..I have been addicted to ...farmtown in facebook. I wish I could say that I was so busy solving world peace and combating world hunger. I wish I could say that I single handedly rid the world of the pet over population. But no, I hang my head in shame...stare at my feet as I move through life and try to figure out what the hell I'm going to plant after the next harvest!!!!

That was a heavy confession. I'm exhausted. But not too exhausted to tell you all about a couple of photo shoots I had this past weekend. My dear friend and co-worker M is getting ready to have her first baby. Her little baby girl is due on July 14th..and they are naming her Daniela..after me. Fine Fine, not Daniela..but they should..what can I say, I'm feeling slightly narcissistic.




M and her husband are so dear to me and are going to make the best parents. They were awesome and let me pretty much do whatever I wanted to do to get the shot.
S and S had a sweet, intimate wedding. They are such a lovely couple. I had the opportunity to spend some time with the bride and her mom and sister before the wedding. Everyone was cool as a cucumber...except for me. The 90 degree heat didn't help.

RANDOMNESS!

I wanted to thank everyone who sent such sweet notes and comments about Lexi. I love you all.

What a crazy two weeks. Work has been insane and completely wore me out. Most days, after work, I came home, showered, ate and went straight to bed.

Last weekend we had our annual employee party at the lake house. It was a blast. The food was excellent and the water was perfect. Some of the folks skied, while the rest napped in the sun. I..well, I floated. That's right..I clung to a float and stayed in the water for about two hours at a time. It was heavenly and so relaxing.

Did you guys know that if dragonflies land on you that it means good luck? I had never heard that until my sister saw me drown the second one...I felt bad... real bad. But when you see something that big land on your shoulder it's only natural to react...I've learned my lesson...and I'm sorry.

Logan has been real needy lately. I think he knows that something is up with Lexi. He goes out to pee and just sits in the yard like he's watching. He stays outside for a long time and refuses to come in. At first I thought he hurt his back again, but there is nothing wrong with him. I think he knows. He looks for her. Now, Lexi hated Logan, but he loved her...he loves everyone. I think he's trying to figure out where she went. When he's not "looking" for her, he's glued to me. Maybe he misses her too.

Who knows what's going on in this cuties head. Man, I wish I knew.

A BLOGGY AWARD!

My amazing bloggy friend Chris, who lives in New Zealand gave me a bloggy award.  I'm real excited since this is the first time I've ever gotten one.  Thank you Chris..I'm sending you North Carolina kisses..

I MISS HER!

For anyone who is not an animal lover, please stop reading this because you're just going to think I'm crazy. Oh for heaven sakes, I could care less if anyone thinks I'm crazy.

It's only been a few days since Lexi died and for some reason I thought that I would be a whole lot better.  But you know what?  It still sucks.   Not only am I missing her, but now I am feeling so guilty.  You see, I held her while she died.  I held her while my good friend and veterinarian put a needle in her vein and euthanized her.  The team of doctors that I spoke with agreed that it was time.  Way past time even.  So why do I feel this horrible guilt.  Why do I break down in tears without warning?  I should be relieved, but I'm not.   I miss her.  She was high maintenance, tempermental, blind, deaf, incontinent and a general pain in the ass.  But I loved her like crazy and my heart is broken.  

I know that one day I'll be able to talk about her without feeling a stabbing pain in my chest.  I know that one day I will glance down at the end of my bed and stop picturing her laying there. 

But now...

I miss her

I miss her

I miss her

PURE JOY!

I spent some time with the little ones yesterday..they are indeed, pure joy!

These boys make me smile no matter how bummed I get!

RIP LEXI!

LEXI

1993-2009

I lost my precious Lexi today. I'll blog more about it tomorrow or Sunday when my heart doesn't ache so much. I love you baby girl!

Who needs a teething ring when you have a big brother?

PRODUCT REVIEW AND AN APOLOGY!

Hello internets!  Remember me?  I have to apologize.  I have let you down, told a lie, went back on my word.  I told you that I would do a product review LAST WEEK for the pedi paws pet nail trimmer.  I rationalized that it was a holiday, so I didn't get it done.  Then, I worked the rest of the week.  So, this past weekend, I was sooo busy, I didn't have time to try out the product to review it today.  Well, thats not entirely true.  Yesterday, I vegged in front of the TV and watched some movies..Yo, I watched a movie called "The Gift"..good who done it..Anyway, so I really just forgot to try the product.  Well, that's not entirely true either.  So,  as I was watching the movies, I gazed across the room and their was the package, but honestly, I just didn't feel like doing it.  For real, this is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.  

But don't be sad..I do have a review for you.  As a matter of fact, I was going to do this review a week after the pedi paws pet nail trimmer.  Since I have indeed used this product, I thought I'd review it first.   I know, I'm so disorganized.

So, today, we will talk about the NuWave Oven Pro.  I saw this little handy oven on an infomercial a few months ago and just had to have it.  For the low low price of $300.00 plus dollars.  It looks awesome.  Cooks chicken from frozen to delicious in minutes.  As a matter of fact, you can cook a whole meal in just a few minutes.  That is what they claim.  And you know what?  They are right!  It does exactly what it says...however..when I tried it, several times, the chicken came out so dry that I couldn't choke it down.  I baked a potato, following the directions exactly, and it came out so dry and gross that I threw it away.  

However, I did make some great sweet potato chips.  They were awesome.  Also, I've made beef jerky several times and dried fruit several times.  Yummy and delicous.  

The oven comes with a handy, dandy carrying case.  I was supposed to get a free pizza pan with it, which I never did.   

To be honest, I don't think this oven is worth it.   Maybe if you have more time to experiment with recipes and such, you can justify buying it, but i just can't.  It's almost the price of a regular oven and takes up alot of counter space.  I keep mine in my bedroom closet, somewhere in the back.  

I will use it again, to make jerky or dried fruit...but since that is all I use it for, I could have gone to Walmart and gotten a good dehydrated for less than $100.00.  Oh well, you live and learn.  What would you people do without me?  OK, Don't answer that.

Pros:  Makes great jerky and dried fruit

            Has a nice carrying case for storage

            Comes with nice recipe book

Cons:  Very expensive 

            a tad complicated

             takes up too much counter space

             doesn't live up to all the hype

Dang that turkey looks good.

JUST CALL HIM FOUR EYES!

Last night I was snuggled up in the bed ready to go to sleep when I felt two eyes burning a hole in the back of my head. Well, that was an underestimate..it was actually four. Pete does love laying on the dresser. I didn't have to beg, he jumped down and snuggled right next to me for the night.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

Happy Memorial day!  Today is a blessing.  My son, the father of my two grandsons, served in the military for six years.  He did two tours in Iraq to fight for my freedom and for yours.  He is one of the lucky ones, so therefor, I am lucky.  But not everyone is as lucky as we are.  Men and women for centuries have been giving their lives for us..for our freedom.  Today is the day that we honor them.  Today is the day that we say thank you and remember them.  Today is the day we think of their families and their friends.

I have an idea..how about if we do that every day!

ps..I took this picture of the bald eagle at Dollywood on Saturday.  Dollywood has a large bald eagle preserve.  Every single one of these birds had been injured or mamed, and could not survive in the wild.  What a gorgeous animal. 

THE WORST 90 SECONDS OF MY LIFE!

Yesterday was a great day of fun in the sun mixed with pure terror.  Let me explain.  Jon, Tara and kids invited me to go to Dollywood with  them.  Everyone knows how much I love Dollywood so I was more than happy to go along.  I could help mom and dad with the kids so they could have some fun and I got to spend time with my family....everybody wins.

The little kids even loved thier rides.  Look grandma, no hands.

After a while the heat was too much, so we took the little ones to an area of the park dedicated just to them...and the hot weather.  It was a great way to cool off and just be little.  

You can't really tell by this photo, but there were small holes in the floor that shot water straight up in the air.  The kids loved it.  Water was also being sprayed from above.  Gavin got soaked, but had a blast. 

While Gavin was happily soaking up the cool water, Dante was doing this...

This is where it got hairy folks...real hairy.  Mom and Dad wanted to go on a roller coaster and since the kids were so darn happy, I offered to watch them while they did just that.  Gavin was playing in the water and Dante was happily napping.  

I had one hand on the stroller and both eyes on Gavin.  I decided to stand up and turn the stroller around so that I could see Dante's cute litte face and when I looked back up...Gavin was GONE.  I mean nowhere to be found.  I panicked in a HUGE way.

I kept saying OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD...over and over again.  I couldn't believe it, I just glanced away and he was GONE.  Soon other parents were asking what he looked like, what he was wearing etc., and off they went to search for my beautiful grandson.  

Just as I was turning to scream at an "official" I ran into my son.  Back from his thrill ride.  "Where's Gavin?", he asked.  In my head I said "he's gone, bound and gagged in the trunk of someones car", he's going to be on Nancy Grace every night for the next 12 years.  I'm going to be in a mental hospital.  You're going to hate me for the rest of my life and end up being a bum on the streets.  Your wife is going to leave you and it's all my fault."  instead what I really said was.."I don't know..oh my god."

Jon, turned around to help look and there he was, rounding the corner.  Happy as a clam, jumping in the water.  My heart was racing so fast and beating so hard I thought I was going to have a heart attack.  I wanted to collapse right there on the concrete, curl into a fetal position and rock back and forth with my thumb in my mouth.  It was awful.  Instead, I cried..Gavin came to hug me and I cried some more.  

I gave birth to 3 sons, naturally, with no drugs and this was 10 times worse.  I put myself through college with 3 tiny boys as a single mom, but this was 10 times worse.  

And this folks, will forever be know as the worst 90 seconds of my life.

Now I am going to lay here in my bed and curl into a fetal position with my thumb in my mouth.

Goodbye

SHAM WOW PRODUCT REVIEW!

What can I say about the sham wow towels? I think they should have called them "What a sham WOW", or "What A SCAM wow". Do you see where I'm going with this?

I was in Petsmart a couple of weeks ago to pick up a few new toys for my furbabies. Right at the end of one isle was a display for Sham Wow so I picked them up. I mean, I couldn't resist. I've seen Vince tell me so many times on the television how wonderful they are. If it can clean up grape juice from white carpet in seconds, then I'm sold.

WELL BACK THE TRUCK UP! This is a towel, no more, no less. The only reason that this towel does what Vince says it does is because he is standing on top of the spill. Well, I don't know about you, but I don't have that kind of time.

I also tested it on the wet kitchen counter. All it did was move the water around. It barely absorbed a thing.

Really internets, save your money and use your regular towels or paper towels for spills. This product is ridiculous..I give it a big fat F

Pros: None
Cons: Does not do what is advertised
Won't absorb spills on hard surfaces
Expensive

For those of you with pets, you'll love next weeks review. I will talk about Pedi Paws Pet Nail Trimmer. They advertise as keeping your pets nails nice and smooth without the pain of traditional nail trimmers. Watch out Logan, mommies gonna give you a manicure.

FUN PHOTO SHOOT!

Yesterday was a great day. I had a photo shoot in Dillard Georgia with some of my favorite people of all time "Perry Reed and Company", a Tennessee gospel group that is making an album and needed a photographer to shoot some of their album covers. Lucky Me.

Mom went with me and we had some time to kill before the Reeds showed up for their photo shoot. We met at the Dillard House and met some of the locals, who by the way are very very friendly.

this girl was happy to see us with food..she was our best friend.


this girl didn't bother to greet us..how rude. Although she was pretty smart to keep cool. It was a hot day.

These girls were more than happy to hang with us..until they found out their was no food coming their way.


This old mare was definitely my favorite. She was so sweet. She nuzzled and kissed and head butted...I loved her and wanted to take her home.

Mom also got in on the feeding frenzy

A beautiful spring photo



Once the Reeds showed up it was all business..well sort of. I love these folks. I've known them for years and even though we don't get together very often, when we do, we always have a great time.







We had a blast. I was able to fit in two of my favorite things...animals and photography. It doesn't get any better than that.