Happy Monday!

Happy MONDAY, you say?! What's happy about Monday?

Well, Mondays are very happy when you're off!

Today's agenda:
1. Sleep late (accomplished! I slept until 8:30!)
2. Finish my book (Second Glance by Jodi Picoult)
3. Watch Singin' in the Rain
4. Do a little laundry
5. Maybe do a little organizing

I think it's going to be a good day!

I Dare You to Move

I love music. There are songs that remind me of people, or places, or things. There are songs that make me smile and songs that make me cry. There are songs that just make me feel good.

I was listening to this song by Switchfoot yesterday and it really made me think. There are times in our lives when we will be kicked off the ladder and don't think we'll be able to get back up again. It's these times that we realize we are stronger than we ever knew. We can do things we never imagined. I have started to feel this way about myself. I dare YOU to move...


"Welcome to the fallout
Welcome to resistance
The tension is here
The tension is here
Between who you are and who you could be
Between how it is and how it should be

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened"

Sundays

I have a love/hate relationship with Sundays.

I looooove Sundays. I love going to church and sometimes lunch. I love sitting around watching a movie, reading, or napping. And I love going to Mama's house for dinner and Scrabble.

But I hate knowing that the next day is Monday. All day I think about having to work the next day, which kinda makes Sundays a drag, even though they're the best days.

I vote for Mondays off. Then I can just love my Sundays. :)

Lucy Girl

I. Love. My. Cat.

SPF 50+

I'm going to hop up on my soap box for this blog entry. As summer gets closer and people are spending more time outside, one word always comes to mind: sunscreen!

I'll be the first to admit that I haven't always been good about applying sunscreen. I went to the tanning bed before prom and in college. But my legs have been lily white during all seasons for about five years now. And that's okay! You know what over exposure to the sun gets you? Wrinkles. And. Sun Spots.

So before going out to work in the yard or heading to the pool or laying out on the beach, please, please, PLEASE apply and re-apply your sunscreen! (p.s. that picture is of MY sunscreen collection!)

I leave you with some skin cancer facts from the skin cancer foundation (http://www.skincancer.org/Skin-Cancer-Facts/).

GENERAL FACTS:

• Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. More than one million skin cancers are diagnosed annually.
  
• Each year there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidence of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon.
  
• One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime.
  
• About 90 percent of non-melanoma skin cancers are associated with exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.


• Up to 90 percent of the visible changes commonly attributed to aging are caused by the sun.


• Contrary to popular belief, 80 percent of a person's lifetime sun exposure is not acquired before age 18; only about 23 percent of lifetime exposure occurs by age 18.
  

TANNING FACTS:

• Frequent tanners using new high-pressure sunlamps may receive as much as 12 times the annual UVA dose compared to the dose they receive from sun exposure.
  
• First exposure to tanning beds in youth increases melanoma risk by 75 percent.
  
• People who use tanning beds are 2.5 times more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma and 1.5 times more likely to develop basal cell carcinoma.

Martha Would Be Proud

These days I rarely (i.e. NEVER) cook. Cooking for one is just no fun! I made tacos one night and ate them for FIVE. DAYS. STRAIGHT. So I usually stick to cereal, sandwiches, and fruit.

However, I jump at any opportunity to host an "event" at my house. Hence Mother's Day on the deck. I made homemade lasagna, and we had italian bread with olive oil dip and salad. Yummy. I was most proud of my pretty tables! I think Martha (and Ina and Sandra) would be proud!

Mama's Day

Everyone says that they have the best mother in the world, but I actually do. Times have not always been easy for our family. We have experienced deaths from car accidents and cancer. We have had marriages fall apart. We have definitely had our ups and downs. Our one constant has been my mama. She held things together so things never seemed as bad as they really were. In seven years of band, softball and volleyball, I only remember her missing one or two events - and she had a full-time job. She drove hours to sit through hot softball games or freezing band competitions. She was always our biggest cheerleader. In high school, she wasn't always our "friend", but she was always our mom, trying to make the best decisions for my sisters and me. (p.s. Mama - I see that now!)

I spend almost every Sunday and Monday night at Mama's house. We have breakfast for dinner on Sunday nights and watch Dancing With the Stars on Monday. Sometimes we play Scrabble, sometimes we just sit around and talk and look at magazines. It's nice to have a mother as a best friend.

Thank you, Mama, for the example you have set for your 3 Ls. There is no mother like you.

"Thank you, thank you, thank God for you, the wind beneath my wings."

The Best Days

I've decided that the best days are just ordinary days when great things happen. Today I spent the afternoon with Lauren. We rode to Henderson, went to a used book store, went to Ruby Tuesday's and came home. What was the most fun?? Singing Steelheart's "I'll Never Let You Go" and doing the hand jive.






These are the best days.

Katie's Baptism

This evening, I witnessed my cousin in the flesh become my sister in Christ. What a blessing!!

Galatians 3:26-28 (King James Version)
26For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
27For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

I wonder...

...how many hours I spend reading peoples' blogs and looking at peoples' pictures on Facebook?!

Longwood Reunion - April 2009

Longwood University

Even though I don't feel like I'm old enough for a COLLEGE reunion, sure enough it was the last weekend in April! I graduated from Longwood University in May 2005 and attended the Decade of the 2000s reunion April 24-26, 2009.

Friday - First order of business was to meet up with some of my girls and go to MACADO's! Amanda, Kathryn, Mary, Ashley, and I had dinner and drinks. Then Amanda ordered dessert and a shot that was supposed to describe each of our personalities...but the waiter kept forgetting. Although he apologized, we never got them... Just in case you're curious, this is what we were supposed to get:

Kathryn - Apple Pie

Mary - Scooby Snacks

Ashley - Dirty Water

Me - Royal Flush

After Macado's, we were off to the bowling alley, where we played three games.

Saturday - We went to information sessions at our colleges to see what's going on at Longwood. I was (and still am) AMAZED at all of the construction, renovations, and changes happening now and in the near future. There is a beautiful new rec center, a Barnes and Noble bookstore, and a new student union on the way. Longwood is also starting a nursing program!

After touring the campus a bit, we met up with Jen, her husband, Joe, and their daughter Alivia. We went to Pino's for lunch and caught up. We went to the new science building and the Rotunda to take some pictures and look around. Then we headed to the bookstore for some Starbucks :)

Amanda and I decided to hang out on a blanket by Wheeler (my freshman dorm) while some of the other girls headed back to the hotel before the cookout. We read, talked, and I even fell asleep. I felt like I was a freshman again! Longwood had a cookout for the alumni with bbq and a band. After that, we headed off to Mulligan's to finish off the weekend. It was an awesome weekend with my girls!

A Collar for Lucy

I just thought this was really sweet...

Cory brought Micah, Shana, and Nathan to the library this morning while I was working. Shana had made Lucy (my cat) a collar - pink ribbon held together with a cat sticker. We love it!

The Cool Whip Container

What is so special about this ordinary Cool Whip container, you might ask? Believe me, I don't know either. To me, this is simply the Cool Whip container. Some people throw them away after the bowl is empty. Others may wash the bowl and use it as a storage container. Either way, this is just a Cool Whip container and nothing more.

To my mother, however, this bowl might as well be her fine china. Losing said Cool Whip container would apparently be devastating. My example - Mama "feeds and waters" her outside cat, Kitty, using two separate Cool Whip containers. The water "bowl" is at the back steps, the food "bowl" is on the front porch (apparently to give the cat - the outdoor on the farm cat - some exercise). Our family dog, Jasmine roams around the farm, but generally stays at the frame shop. However, she always makes the trip over when she sees my car in the driveway (!). One evening as we sat watching television, Jasmine ran through the front yard with the water bowl. She then sees the food "bowl", drops the water "bowl" and runs off with the food "bowl" instead. I just thought it was funny. Mama thought this was a tragedy and that I must immediately save the Cool Whip containers. So here I have to run after a dog for the Cool Whip container, pry it out of her mouth, and promise her a dog treat if she will give up the Cool Whip container. Seriously.

The attempt was successful and not just one, but BOTH, Cool Whip containers were saved in the process. Jasmine got her treats, Kitty still has her beloved food and water "bowls", and Mama didn't have find another Cool Whip container out of the 2.7 million under the kitchen counter.

I'd say it was a successful rescue mission.

April Highlights

Some good times from April:
* Betty's Birthday celebration - Mexican, movie, and ice cream!
* Spending the day with Lauren on the 4th

* Finding an awesome used book store in Henderson

* Leslie and Chris getting two new kittens, Boo Boo and Rambo
* Getting out of this funk I've been in!
* Pizza and hershey cake for Chris's birthday at the Loves'
* Leslie's key lime cake and cookies for Chris's birthday
* Longwood Reunion with my girls!