Photos and Contest

Welcome back to the most inconsistent blog on the planet.  I'm sure that the 2 people who read this have really, really missed me. 

Or not.

We've been busy traveling, going to showers, and learning to crawl.  (Well, not me, I already know how to crawl, believe it or not.) 

Ally Grace had her 10 month photos taken by our friend Kerie.....and since a picture is worth a thousand words, this might be the longest blog you've ever "read."  Enjoy!

Notice the devious glint in her eye.  She completely gets this from her dad. 

Definitely not from me.  Nope.  Definitely not.

This last photo is totally my favorite.  And apparently everyone else's, as I learned from a not at all annoying poll of our family and friends. 

So in semi-related news, we've decided to enter AG in Gerber's Cutest Kid contest.  NOT because we think she's the cutest kid in the world.  (Except that we totally do).  And not because I'm trying to get all "Toddlers and Tiaras" up in here.  (I promise not to pierce her ears, make her wear makeup, or dress her up in mini-evening gowns, until, oh, never, since she'll be wearing turtlenecks and sweaters until she's at least 25.  And possibly longer.)

The main reason we're doing this is because the winner is awarded a $25,000 scholarship for college!  And I will do just about anything to win that scholarship.  Including, but not limited to, really obnoxiously begging asking people to vote for her via the blog, twitter, facebook, and possibly even wearing puff-painted t-shirts with her name on them. 

Well.  Let's not be rash.  No amount of money is worth that kind of fashion mishap.

Voting begins September 3rd, and in case you're worried that you might forget, you shouldn't.  Because I'm not going to let you. 

Let the voting begin! 
(In about 3 days).

Lazy vs. Efficient

Does it make me lazy or just extremely efficient that I would probably give someone my right arm for this?

http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-bargain-hunter/2010/08/09/publix-tests-curbside-service-in-atlanta/

Let's go with efficient.

Memories

Seven years ago, on my 23rd birthday, I went out with friends. Some new, some old, some still my best friends today. I wore a big pink tiara and an Urban Outfitters t-shirt that said “Proud to Farm.”


(Clearly, I was shy and didn’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to myself).

My still fairly new boyfriend had gotten a big group of people together for dinner at OK Café, an Atlanta institution. Afterwards, we went out in Buckhead til the early morning hours.

The next day, said boyfriend made me WAKE UP AT 4AM (maybe a couple of hours after I went to sleep!) to pick me up for a surprise hot air balloon ride. I didn’t know where we were going, and am pretty sure I was contemplating whether I wanted to continue dating someone that did surprises at such godforsaken hours of the day.

It WAS however, a really fun experience. And it wasn’t even the best part of my day—the boyfriend let me go home, get back into my pajamas, and he watched movies with me all day, only leaving my condo once to go get us some BBQ and a pecan pie. Heaven. This is when I knew we were made for each other.

Or maybe I knew it later that night, when he told me he loved me and wanted to marry me (after six weeks of knowing each other). How did I know, you ask? I’m pretty sure it was from my lack of desire to run screaming from the room in a complete and total panic. Instead, all I felt was excitement.

That was 7 birthdays ago, and John and I are both a lot older (especially in his case) and (hopefully) wiser. We’ve been through so many amazing times and a few rough ones too.

And even though today is my birthday, and we’re technically supposed to be celebrating me, I always feel like celebrating us instead.

Thank you for being the best birthday present ever, babe. You were the surprise of a lifetime.

(And the rest of you are welcome to go throw up now.)

Goodbye to My Twenties

Tomorrow, I say goodbye to my twenties....It's been quite the decade, I must say. 

In the last 10 years, I.....

moved 6 times

had THREE careers

fell in love

had my heart broken

fell in love FOR REAL

got married

was a newlywed

bought my first house

fell in love with the best dog in the world

experienced pregnancy (and all it's ups and downs)

became a mother!

formed some amazing friendships

became a runner

ran a marathon

went to Europe

was a ropes course instructor (despite a paralyzing fear of heights)

became addicted to stainless steel wipes and marshmallows

grew in my relationship with Jesus

went on hiking trips

began my love affair with Starbucks

learned that I loved Thai food

started a blog

(am so thankful for people who actually read it)

In the words of Jenna Rink in 13 Going on 30:

"To being 30.  I've decided it's gonna be awesome."

Surprised

Seven years ago, on our 3rd date, John gave me a toy detective kit.  Complete with handcuffs (minds out of the gutter, people!), a police baton (in case I needed to give someone a beat down?), and a magnifying glass (to look for clues, of course).  I happened to be an investigator for DFCS at the time, and he assured me that these toys were going to help me in my new career. 

Or not.

(Personally, I believe it's because he had the foresight to know that I make it my mission in life to ruin surprises, be nosy, figure things out.)

So this year, you can imagine the VERY GREAT RESTRAINT shown when I managed to NOT open an email that was left OPEN on his iphone bearing the subject:  "Sherri's Birthday, Pricci, August 14th."

Excuse me husband, have we met?  Head in the game, John!  Do you know that I had to immediately, fingers-twitching, give you back your phone and run away?

I might also add that among our friends, we are notorious for trying to throw each other surprise parties.  Every year.  Some people have begun referring to it as the "Annual John/Sherri Surprise Party."  As in, will there be an Annual Surprise Party this year?

Why, yes. Yes, there will.

Thank you to my wonderful husband for the fabulous surprise 30th birthday party!  And in case you were wondering, I'm still 29 for 2 more days, and don't think I'm not hanging on for dear life.

Disclaimer:  it is total and complete coincidence that I had my hair and makeup done on the day of my party. 

Totally. 

Possibly.

Me and the sneaky secret-keeper

Rod and Kristin, his partners in crime.

Moment of truth--why is it so embarrassing to be serenaded by 30 people?

Again with the serenading.

(Okay, who am I kidding?  I loved it.)

Quite possibly the best picture on record of my brother-in-law, Jamey.

Doesn't he look so good in Burberry?

Huge thank you to all of my sweet friends and family who helped throw my snoopy self off track in previous weeks.  You're all big liars awesome, and I love you!

PCB, How I Love You

Whew!  I have been going nuts over here, working 2 full time jobs, and my most demanding boss likes to poop in her pants at very inopportune moments. 

(And yes, I am talking about Ally Grace here.)

(And if I wasn't, that would possibly be the world's most awkward employee dilemma.)

If you've ever been to Panama City Beach, you pretty much either love it or hate it.  I happen to LOVE IT.  For lots of reasons, the main one being that I have years of great family vacation memories there. Plus spring breaks, senior trips, and lots of girls weekends.  And on our most recent visit (last week) I got to add some news memories:  seeing AG at the beach for the first time, watching her cry when we put her toes in the sand, and spending some quality time with my parents.  We loved every minute of it!

There were, however, a few other noteworthy things that made this year's trip stand out. 

1.  The girls in the crocheted bikinis and cowboy hats, taking model shots on the fake island in the middle of the pool.  Classy.  Of ALL the times to leave my camera in the room.  WHYYYYYYYYY??????

2.  Working out at The Lord's Gym.  Seriously.  It's this gym in a local church where you can give a donation to work out.  (Or you can literally just work out for free.  They really don't care.)  Driving up, I asked John if he thought church members might witness to us while we were jogging on the treadmill.  Or maybe they let you lift crosses instead of weights.  Instead what transpired was a solid workout, amongst a whole bunch of beefy guys, and a little kid who was dribbling a basketball dangerously close to my face while I did crunches. 

Maybe now that I've worked out, I too can go model in my crocheted bikini at the resort pool.  Or maybe not.  Ever.

3.  The sheer number of mulleted, airbrushed t-shirted people that I saw in the Walmart parking lot.  It was like there was a convention in town.  One that I sadly was not invited to.

4.  Beating a certain someone (and by "certain someone" I mean "John")  in a rousing game of putt-putt.  Or at least, as rousing as putt putt can be.

Here are a few pictures from our trip, although there's no crocheted swimwear involved.  You can thank me later.

AG loving the pool...like mother, like daughter.

Bath time in the sink....because, well, who doesn't love a picture of a bathing baby.

Or a picture of my HUGE roots, for that matter.

On our way to putt putt.  If only he had known the butt-kicking that awaited him.

AG and her Granddaddy!

Facing the Great Unknown. 

(Or, if you're not overly dramatic, the ocean.)

Had to show you how unhappy AG was with the sand.  Unfortunately, that also means I had to show you what I look like after just waking up and only a few sips of coffee.  And yes, that IS my coffee cup in the lower left hand corner of the picture.  With a straw.  'Cause that's how I roll.

AG loves her Grandmama and Granddaddy.

Do you see all the teeth?!  She has EIGHT. And she knows how to use 'em.
Just ask my face, which instead of kissing, she now likes to bite.  And not because she's a Twilight fan.  I think.

Finally, I want to document in writing for the future version of myself, that it is NOT smart to travel with a tired, hungry baby, who decides she wants to be anywhere BUT her carseat within the first hour.  A ghetto-rigged, portable DVD player, playing Praise Baby will not even help.  Neither will singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider over and over again (even if we're singing it in ROUNDS....which actually might have been the problem, now that I think about it).  Nor will getting in the backseat and feeding her puffs on demand.  At least not for long enough.