Break out the hats, and make yourself a Mint Julep....

It's Derby week here in Kentucky!  I love Derby week!

I am consumed with all things Derby the first week of May. I read everything I can about the horses--their trainer, their jockey, their farm. I study their pictures. I look at the odds. And, I never have a clear cut favorite to win. I'll pick a horse solely for his looks. This year, the horse Hansen is beautiful! I'll want a jockey to win because I just like him. Calvin Borel, for instance. I love him! Or I'll pull for a trainer because he's never had a Derby winning horse. Or because he's a legend in the horse industry and another win would just be perfect. D.Wayne Lukas hasn't won a Derby in 13 years. I would love to see his horse with the garland of roses come Saturday afternoon. I don't usually bet. I want them all to win.

I'm also obsessed with the Derby Hats. Last year, when I went to the Kentucky Oaks, I had just as many pictures of hats as I did the horses. I love seeing all the gorgeous and outrageous Derby hats.

There's something almost magical about the Derby. I get goosebumps when the call to post is made, and I become teary-eyed when they sing "My Old Kentucky Home"...and then I sit glued to the TV, afraid to blink while the horses race.

I don't know if my love affair with the Derby is because I'm a born and bred Kentucky girl, or because my birthday always falls Derby week, or because it's just that addicting...but I truly love this time of year.

Slowing down the clock

I'm channeling my inner Cher this morning. No, I'm not going to sing in a barely there outift on top of a Navy battleship. Yes, you can say, "Oh, Thank God!"

But, the Cher classic, "If I Could Turn Back Time" keeps running through my head. I know it's impossible to go back in time, however, is there a way that we can at least slow it down? Because it's going waaaay to fast!

Last night, I put together and addressed Austin's graduation announcements. And, I admit--I became a little teary-eyed. It doesn't seem possible that my little dark-haired, chunk-a-munk of a toddler is now about to walk the graduation stage. Sigh.

Today is PJ's birthday, it doesn't seem possible that my teeny-tiny premature baby boy is now seventeen. This time next year, I'll be addressing his graduation announcements. Sigh.

Earlier this month, my freckle-face Hankadoo turned eight. How is that even possible? Sigh.

Pumpkin Muffins + The Rock = Labor and Delivery

It’s funny how you can associate two or three things to remember exactly what you were doing xx amount of years ago on a certain date.  I can tell you exactly what Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and pumpkin muffins have in common, and how I spent my day eight years ago today.

April 3, 2004—It was a Saturday. The weather was beautiful. I was nine months pregnant. I was fat, swollen, and very uncomfortable.  Not long after I woke up that morning, I lost my mucus plug. Sorry, TMI--But, when you’re nine months pregnant, that’s a huge deal. I didn’t do that with the other pregnancies, so I was a little freaked out by it. I got on my ivillage message board and asked my chat buddies the question, “Do you go into labor after losing your mucus plug?”

The answers differed. Some girls said they went into labor immediately after, some said they lost their plug and nothing happened for three weeks.  This was not helpful in my quest for information. I wanted to go into labor. I was tired of being fat and pregnant. I missed seeing my feet and ankles. I was tired of my hip and back hurting.

I called my mom, and told her that I was a little crampy feeling, but I didn’t think I’d go into labor. After all, Hank’s due date was still two and a half weeks away.  Joe and I spent the day doing our normal Saturday things like running errands, and window shopping.  I think we walked all over Columbus, Georgia. We had lunch in Atlanta Bread Company. I ate a pumpkin muffin and drank a glass of iced tea. We stopped in Bed, Bath & Beyond to just look around, and I had a very strong contraction!

On the way home, I had another contraction.  I started to think that all the walking I did wasn’t a good idea.  I was more miserable than I had been.  I took a shower, put on my favorite cotton pajama pants and tee shirt that still fit, and settled in for a normal Saturday night at home.  I laid on the couch and couldn’t get comfortable.  I laid on the bed and couldn’t get comfortable. I still didn’t think I was in early labor, but I thought I better call Labor & Delivery to find out where in the hospital they were located, just in case I needed to go later that night. For the record, I wasn’t a total dingbat, I had never been to L & D because all my appointments had been on the first floor in the Family Practice Clinic.  The nurse at L & D told me they like for you to wait until contractions get to around a 6 on the pain chart before coming in. I gave her my name, and told her I may or may not be in later.  

It wasn’t too long before I decided that I was definitely in labor.  I had Joe & the boys get my bag together.  Then we waited. I wasn’t about to go to the hospital until I knew for sure that Hank was well on his way.  I wanted it to be a one-time only time. I didn’t want to be one of those poor people that go to the hospital, and get sent back home.  

We kept waiting. The boys were wired. I was tired and very anxious. Joe was excited, in a calm way. My contractions were getting strong, and close together. But, since we were in the middle of watching a movie, I was hoping I could wait until it was over before we packed up and left.  

As soon as the credits rolled on “Walking Tall” I looked at Joe and said, “Let’s go!”             

That was around midnight.  Nine hours later, on Sunday, April 4, 2004 our sweet baby boy made his grand debut.

So, there you have it… I will always associate pumpkin muffins, Bed, Bath & Beyond and the movie ‘Walking Tall’ with going into labor.

My weekend...

 Tomorrow, my friend Saundra and I are going to see "The Hunger Games"....and I can't wait. I've been re-reading the book this week in anticipation. Yes, I'm a nerd. I admit it. I absolutely loved the book, and I've heard the movie is amazing. Plus, I have to support my peeps. Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss) and Josh Hutcherson (Peeta) are both fellow Kentuckians!

While I'm at the movies, Joe and Hankadoo will be off to a WWE event. We bought Hank tickests for his upcoming birthday. And, if that wasn't enough-- I scored a meet & greet before the show. He knows he's going, but he has no idea about the activities beforehand. He's going to be one stoked little boy, that's for sure! I almost wish I was going, too. Just to see his face and reaction. I'm hoping he gets some cool pictures and maybe a few autographs.

And, like every other weekend in the history of man, I will be doing laundry.

Have a great weekend!!

Basketball in Kentucky

The majority of Kentucky natives are die hard basketball fans. They live and breathe for the Kentucky Wildcats. They can tell you everything about the team from the three-point shot percentages to the players favorite foods. They revolve their schedule and entire life around when UK is playing.

I am in the extremely small percentage of Kentuckians who could not care one way or another about UK basketball. Yes, I have Kentucky tee shirts...but that's more about supporting my state than a team. I have watched maybe 30 minutes of UK basketball this entire season. And, since March Madness is among us, the Wildcat hysteria is in full swing.

Tomorrow night the mighty UK Wildcats play the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Yes, two Kentucky schools playing against each other in the NCAA tournament. And, while most people will be wearing Wildcat colors, chanting 'Go Big Blue'... I will be wearing red and yelling, "Go Big Red'...

I tend to cheer for the underdog. And while it's very unlikely, I'd love to see WKU take down the Cats.

Hello, My Name is Stupid...

We all do stupid things. It's part of life. But, to what degree we take our stupidity is another animal.

When I decided to cut my own bangs, that was mildly stupid. I knew better. Did it anyway. And, they looked awful.

When I smashed my hand with a piece of office equipment and had to have xrays to rule out a broken pinky finger--that was moderately stupid. Yes, it was an accident. But, I picked the binding machine up wrong. I'm the poster child for what not to do in our office.

My latest dose of stupid---not backing up the thousands of pictures on the computer. And, now our computer has crashed. My pictures may be gone forever. This is extremely stupid. Our computer guru isn't sure if he'll be able to save the pictures or not. It's not looking good. I've tried not to think about it, but I know I need to face reality and admit that my stupidity may have lost something very valuable.

Counting our blessings

 Yesterday, I wrote about how we had severe weather warnings, tornadoes coming, etc. As the day progressed, the weather alerts kept getting upgraded. Our weather alert went to a level 9. Level 10 is the highest. The schools started dismissing classes early, businesses started closing early. We closed county government at three o'clock. I picked up Hankadoo from after-school, and ran into Big Lots for flashlights, then we came home and settled in for what could be a very scary afternoon/night. I turned the TV on, put the batteries in the flashlight, and made space in the laundry room in case we needed to seek shelter. We sat and watched the weather, we looked out the doors and windows, we heard the warning sirens several times. We had rain and wind. After a few minutes of regular spring weather, the skies cleared, and we had a beautiful rainbow over our town.

A small town an hour and a half north of here wasn't so lucky.

This is a picture of the tornado that struck Henryville, Indiana. It pretty much wiped the town off the map. Houses were leveled, businesses blown off their foundations. The destuction is everywhere. My heart breaks for this community. And, I know that it could have been very well been us. It could have been our high school gym destroyed. It could have been my friends who died in the storm. It could have been my loved ones who lost their homes.

As I sit and drink my coffee this morning, I'm counting my blessings. As well as everyone else in our area.

In like a lion....

I haven’t blogged much lately. I don’t know if I didn’t have anything to say, or if I was being lazy. Maybe, a little of both.

March is here. I keep thinking of the old weather saying, “in like a lion, out like a lamb”…. And I’m afraid that’s how it’s going to be this year. On Wednesday, we had four tornadoes touchdown in our county and the neighboring county. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt. Homes were destroyed and buildings damaged. But, it could have been much, much worse. We lost power at work for over an hour, and spent the time on the first floor watching the sky go from cloudy to dark gray to black and back to daylight. It was a little eerie. We were going to pass the time by playing a game of Charades. But, that fell through when I suggested ‘Gone w/the Wind’ as a movie title to act out. Hey—I thought it was funny! The kids were at school and on tornado lockdown the majority of the morning. We’re expecting another round of storms later today. The projected time line is from 4 to 7—right when everyone is getting off work or leaving school and heading home. I told the big boys to keep me posted on their whereabouts this afternoon. I believe everyone in our area has said a little prayer that it doesn’t get bad. I’m typically not a ‘Nervous Nellie’ when it comes to weather, but I have to admit, I’m a little worried about what could come later on this afternoon.

Our weather isn’t the only thing coming in like a lion this month. The list of ‘Things to Do’ is getting rather fierce, too. Spring sports are starting. That means Hank will be at the soccer field two or three days a week until games start. PJ has had track practice every day since wrestling ended, and his track meets will start up soon, also. Besides sports, we have several birthdays, and family celebrations.  March will roll into April with more sports, more birthdays, and more family celebrations. At the end of April, Austin’s end-of-Senior-year festivities will start. He’ll have prom, the Senior trip to Chicago, and graduation all within five weeks of each other.  I believe we’ll have something every weekend from now until Memorial Day.

I hope everyone has a great Friday. Keep your fingers crossed that these storms bring nothing but rain.

That's Amore...

"When the moon hits you eye like a big pizza pie
That's amore"

When you have six weddings come in your office in a two-hour time frame
That's amore!

The second verse was my own little version.

I never know how many weddings we'll have on Valentine's Day. One year, we had around thirty. The next, three. Today, we had six. You have to love the silly, romantic fools that rush to the courthouse to get married on Valentine's Day :)

Last year, on Valentine's Day, I wrote about an older couple that came in to get married, and how sweet it was to see. It warmed my heart. It made me smile. This year, I'm going in the opposite direction.

Today a magistrate and myself had a case of, "Oh holy hell, what do we do?"
Here's the story: I was filling out a marriage license, when I recognized the groom's name. Sure enough, I knew the kid. Well, he's not a kid, he's 24. I don't know him as well as I know his parents. The groom grew up with my nephews, and his parents are very good friends of my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. I've been around him and his family for many years. AND--the groom and his parents live next door to one of the magistrates that serve on Fiscal Court. Yes, the plot thickens. I finished the marriage license, and asked my friend, the magistrate, "Isn't that so-and-so's son?"

"Well, yes. Yes, it is!"

Oh, crap. Where are his parents? Do they even know he's here to get married? What do we do? Luckily, my magistrate-friend was not the magistrate that was to perform the wedding!

The look on the groom's face when he saw his next door neighbor standing in the court room was priceless. The poor thing looked as if he was going to puke. And, I can't say that I blame him. Here he's being sneaky and getting married without telling his parents, and there's his neighbor. Wow, small world. Even smaller world that the lady filling out your marriage license knows your parents, too!

He begged, and I mean begged for his neighbor not to tell his parents. The magistrates are not clergy, they aren't sworn to keep information to themselves. I think the conversation ended with the magistrate giving him two days to tell his parents, and then the secret was out. They've been neighbors and friends for many, many years and I understand not wanting to damage that.

I hope he comes clean with his parents before they hear it via the grapevine, or worse yet, read it Sunday's paper.

I guess love makes you do crazy things.

That's Amore---

Baby, it's cold outside....

Kentucky weather is very unpredictable.  It can be 34 degrees and blowing snow one day and a sunny 67 degrees the next. This winter has been unusually mild, and we all became spoiled with the good temps, and lack of snow. So now that it's cold, we're all freezing and complaining. Myself included! I hate cold weather. I kinda liked wearing my flipflops in January!

I have a date later  with Hank, Austin and Joe. We're going to see "Journey 2 The Mysterious Island"....which stars The Rock, so I'm not complaining one bit about the movie choice. He has always been one of my most favoritest of eye candy. He has the great smile with the pearly white teeth, the big tattooed arms. Sigh.

Our movie date was supposed to be a family affair, but PJ is supporting the wrestling team at the regional tournament today (Go Bruins!!) and he and Austin both have to work tomorrow. Hank was a little upset that one of his brothers couldn't go with us, until I told him that the next movie he wanted to see PJ could take him, and they'd have a brother date. 

We have friends coming over for dinner, and I'm making a yummy calzone recipe that I found on pinterest (my newest internet addiction!!)

So overall, I think it will be a good Saturday. Despite the cold weather!

Are you ready for some football?

Whoohoo, it's Superbowl Sunday! It's almost like a holiday. It's a time to gather with family and friends, eat way too much, and be happy. And, that's exactly my plan!

We're having a Superbowl Party at Mom & Dad's today, and I'm excited. I love my crazy family, and any time that we can get together is a good day. The only downside is that PJ has to work until 8, and Austin has to work until 9. I hate that they'll miss most of the fun, but I'm proud of them for having a job and responsibilities.
The sisters (and their hubbies) are coming down. And, that means that I'll get to love on my sweet little niece. I haven't seen her in about three weeks, and I'm having major withdrawls. I'm ready to smooch on her little cheeks. My friend and her daughter may join us at Mom's. And, I know that "the other son" will be there. Alex is best friends with Austin and PJ. He's just part of the family, and it's a given that he's included in anything we do.

Thanks to my crazy addiction to Pinterest, I have some yummy recipes to make. Slutty brownies, anyone? Individual pizza pockets, perhaps?

What a great weekend this has been. I enjoyed my day off from work on Friday. Yesterday, Joe and I went to Louisville for our anniversary date. We did a little shopping, had lunch at a great little restaurant, and topped off the day with some killer Apple/Caramel Pie that I'm certain added five pounds to my thighs. But, oh so worth it! (Side note: Must go to the gym later!) And, today I'm spending time with my favorite people. Life is good.

A Day Off.....

The original plan for today: Joe and I were going to take the day off from work. We were going to Louisville to do a little shopping, grab lunch, and then be back in time to pick Hank up from after-school.

That didn't happen.

He somehow got screwed out of his day off, and had to work. Which stinks.

But even though my day off didn't go as planned, I still had a great (and much needed) day off.

After the boys left for school this morning, I cuddled up on the couch with my favorite quilt, and my Diet Coke. Then it hit me-- I had complete control over the remote! I could watch anything I wanted. This never happens! I had a hard time choosing between my beloved 'Golden Girls' and the classic movie, 'An Affair to Remember'....as much as I love Rose and Sophia, Cary Grant won that battle.

After my movie, I gave myself a pedicure. I'm happy to say I no longer have ugly, dry, lizard feet! My toes are a pretty red, and if the weather holds out, I WILL wear flipflops tomorrow!

I had a delicious lunch with my good friend that I haven't seen in forever.

I came home in time to meet Hank getting off the school bus. After a snack, I took a nap on the couch while he played the Wii.

I think I need a day off more often!

My beef with the WWE

When my big boys were little boys, they were wrestling fans. Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, Big Show, etc. were a part of my household. So, there's no surprise that Hank is now a fan of WWE. I'm fine with little boys being a fan of Raw and Smackdown. I'm fine with little boys looking at John Cena and Sheamus as heroes. I'm even fine with Hankadoo doing his wrestling moves on my king-size bed every day, and perfecting his 'signature move' even if it does sound like he's about to come through the ceiling.

What I'm not fine with is a clip of last night's Monday Night Raw that Hank was watching before school this morning. There was Kane, who is huge, and not known to be the most-friendly of sorts wrestling a lesser know newcomer. I didn't see what happened in the ring, but the part I did see was Kane beating the crap out of this poor guy. To the point that he left the arena in an ambulance.

Now, I'm a grown woman, I know it's fake. I know it's staged. But, to a seven-year-old little boy, it's not fake. It's real.

So, here's my beef: During WWE shows, there's a commercial that airs about not bullying, not being mean to others. It's a great commercial. I applauded the WWE the first time I saw it because it's a great message for the kids that look at these wrestling stars as something larger than life. I know if Randy Orton or Daniel Bryan says not to bully, it's going to be heard a lot louder than if silly old Momma says the same thing.

So how is it that the WWE can air this commercial promoting the message of non-bullying and then ten minutes later have a huge, massive man beat the crap out of someone?

Books, Books & More Books

I love books, and I love to read. I've noticed a pattern with my reading habit. I won't touch a book for two or three months, and then I'll read four or five books in less than a month. This has been the case since Christmas.

Hank gave me 'One for the Money' by Janet Evanovich for Christmas. My sister gave me 'The Hunger Games' trilogy. My friend gave me 'City of Ashes' which is the second of a series. She had given me the first book last spring for my birthday. Joe gave me the Sarah Palin book, and a book from Rebecca Wells, who wrote 'Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood'....... it's safe to say, that I received a lot of books for Christmas.

I read  'One for the Money' first. The movie comes out next weekend, and I wanted to read the book before I go see it. It was an easy read. I liked it. I decided that I'd more than likely read the rest of the series, since there's so many. I picked up 'Two for the Dough' at our junk store for like a buck. Big Lots had #15 in hardback for $3. So, I picked it up, too. Then, Joe and I had gone to the flea market to get Hank a comic box, and one of the booths was completely going out of business. All books were twenty-five cents!! What? That's crazy!! I dug around and found eight more of the series, some were hardback that looked as if they had never been read. 8 books for $2.00. Score!! Now, I have 10 of the 18. Most are in sequence, too. I'll get the others here and there. I'm saving these to read this summer when we're in the car, on the houseboat, etc.

After 'One for the Money' I decided to read 'City of Ashes'. I had read the first in the series last spring, and it was good. I'm not typically a YA reader, even though I'm guilty of reading 'The Twilight Saga'-- Don't judge!! My friend, Saundra, is a die-hard YA person. She had said that I'd like the books, and I did. So much so, that when I finished the second one, I went ahead and picked up the third book.

I like to read books in order if at all possible. It's part of my OCD tendencies. So, I was saving 'The Hunger Games' trilogy until I had time to read all three. Everyone that I know who has read them said they are great books, and there's a lot of hype and buzz about the movie coming out in March, so I wanted to make sure I had them all read before then. I started 'The Hunger Games' on Monday, and finished it Thursday. I started 'Catching Fire', the second book yesterday when I took my lunch break, and I think I'll have it done before Monday morning.

At this rate, I'm going to need another bookshelf.

The Non-Titled Post....

 We had a little snow yesterday, and the kids are on a one-hour delay this morning for school. One-hour delays are a pain in the butt due to the fact that Joe and I leave for work before Hank has to catch the bus. Luckily for us, we have two teenage boys that can put their little brother on the bus for us. I know many parents don't have that luxury, and school delays are inconvenient for many people.

This is the first time we've really had winter weather so for that I'm very grateful. Not only did we have a little snow, but it's also very, very cold this morning. Last year, the boys had snow day after snow day, and we even had delays at work. This winter has been nothing like that, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the mild weather continues. I'm not a winter fan. So, the sunny 50 degree days we had in December and into January have been right up my alley.

2012 has started off rather slow and quiet, but I know that won't last long. Wrestling will wrap up for PJ soon, and he'll go straight into track. Soccer will start back for Hank. Our lazy weekends spent at home watching movies and hanging out will be replaced with running from one event to another. Austin will be busy with end of Senior year activities. He's actually having cap and gown pictures made today. I've ordered his graduation announcements, and we've put the deposit down on his Senior trip to Chicago. I think he's undecided about going to prom, he hasn't really said anything about it. Knowing him, and the way he does things, he'll wait until three days before, decide to go, then leave his dear mother frantically trying to pull things together. That's just the way he is. I've had Cap & Gown Pictures marked on the calendar for weeks, and at 6:30 this morning, he's digging through the closet looking for his tie.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

I'm not going to lie--I was asleep last night at midnight! When the ball dropped in New York City, I was sound asleep, drooling on my pillow. I didn't hear my phone beep with text messages, I didn't hear if the neighbors shot fireworks. I'm not even sure if Hank was still awake to ring in the new year.

Hank is cuddled up in my lap, a good way to start the new year, but I know he's really trying to boot me off the computer so he can play Wizard 101! I guess that's my sign to go take a shower and get ready for the gym. Afterall, one of my goals for 2012 is to have killer abs!

I may have missed a toast last night, but I'll raise my coffee mug and say "Happy New Year, here's to 2012....."