my own little book review....

i've read two really GREAT books in the last few months. thought i'd share in case you were in the market for a good read. the first one is this:

it is gritty, and real, and honest, and funny, and insightful. the people are people you might know from next door. they are 100% imperfect. and i fell in love with them.

the next one is this:it is sweet, and kind, and full of hope and humor. the people are DELIGHTFUL. but not too cheesy. it is a perfect book. truly perfect. while blue*shoe is not for the faint of heart, guernsey is for anyone who loves to get lost in a wonderful story. you will giggle and cheer with the fine friends created.
speaking of fine friends...we discussed guernsey with my little book group last night. everyone gave it a resounding thumbs up! i give my little book group a resounding thumbs up. what neat ladies! last night was our 2 year anniversary! i love meeting with them each month and reading books i would never have heard of if not for them. we voted last night and the book that got the most votes for "favorite" that we have read so far was "cry, the beloved country." the book that got the most votes for "least favorite" (and i might add that the voting on this was unanimous) was "the enchantress of florence." so, buyer beware!

i love myself a holiday weekend!

but let's be serious...what's not to love!

my memorial day fun began friday night at the brown's. no agenda, just dinner and some hang out time. look at this fun shot i got of nate and emily on the tramp, in the air. they're cute! then saturday nbc was in b-town taping a segment for a new reality show that is coming july 7th. it is an amazing*race style show for families, in RVs, driving from one end of route 66 to the other. well, the stop in b-town involved a talent show and a taping with a live audience. that is where we came in:it was funny. odd, funny. but also just plain funny. too much to get into here, but, suffice it to say that the old woman sitting behind janna, nate and me said she thought we were more entertaining than the taping. as you can imagine, we took that as a compliment and were thrilled. : )

after that i met my friend sheri for dinner. she was in town visiting from kc. SO great to see her and catch up!

sunday we met some other friends for lunch. lots of laughs with this group. i kept noticing people turning to look at us from all the laughter. but we would not be quieted! : ) i decided that they were just happy for us.

there was lots of other fun that didn't get photographed. like, a quick trip to sgf for some fabric shopping with sparky, lunch with mandy, a thwarted boat trip with roberta and friends that turned into a lovely little dinner party, and nascar, there is always nascar. : ) hope you enjoyed a wonderful holiday weekend. i'd love to hear all about it. seriously. press "comment" and do tell!

mile*zero....

i enjoyed a great night last night. live music, perfect weather, fun friends. i loved it! my friends craig and tom have a duo they call mile*zero. they are so talented and love music so much it is infectious! here they are...doing what they love to do:

even the babies enjoy the music! and i sure enjoy their mama's! so fun to sit by lindsay and catch up a bit! amy arrived, better late than never. and she was informed by a relative stranger that she "should really be a model." i told her she won't be living that one down anytime soon!

haydon and handy enjoy some refreshment... and haydon enjoys his first solo ice cream cone on the way home. too cute! and he didn't even make a mess!

i must say, the weather in b-town this week has been nothing less than HEAVEN ON EARTH! warm days, cool nights, low humidity. sitting there last night enjoying the music on that gorgeous evening...it was amazing!

it's come to this...

i just downloaded 4 REO*Speedwagon songs to my ipod.

it is official, people...i'm old!

but, if you are in the mood to make your own day click here and ENJOY!

long live the mullet and the 70's rock band!

girls night out...

our monthly girls night out gathering was last night. oh my...what fun! dee and sheri hosted a "garden party!" and they went ALL out, let me tell ya! we had yummy southern summertime snacks, darling little hats to wear, we planted flowers, and played "cowboy golf." but mainly, we just laughed and enjoyed each other's company for the evening! what a great group of ladies:the gardening portion of the evening was so fun. here's hoping i can keep mine alive!! and the cowboy golf: to say i'm "hooked" on this new game would be an understatement! now, i will warn you, if you talk to sparky and sheri they will tell you they won. but, they didn't. they did the math wrong on the scoring, bless their hearts. michelle and i were CLEARLY the real winners.
great night! great girls! great games! great fun! i'm blessed!

polly want a "cracker"?

another monday...why do they arrive so quickly??

i had a fun weekend. it just seemed short!

friday night was the "ladies loaning library." we had a small crowd this time. but, a really delightful evening. naomi cracked us up by bringing a truckload of books! funny. and, we had extra time so we broke out the phase 10. you know it's a good night when cards are involved!

saturday was crazy. big junior*auxiliary event in the morning. then, i spent the afternoon watching some REAL cute little friends of mine compete in a gymnastics meet. the evening involved watching two sporting events - the preakness and the nascar all star race. loved every minute of all that! i can't believe i'm saying this but i'm turning into a huge kyle*busch fan. the bad attitude, the great driving, the excitement he creates. let me just put this way..."i can't fight this feeling anymore, i've forgotten what i started fighting for"...go 18!!!

then sunday. i'm not going to be able to put into words how funny this was:let me just suffice it to say that OUT OF THE BLUE my friend noelle decides we should run by petco. "just to look." i should have been suspicious right then! all in all...30 minutes later...we were loading up her car with a new parakeet and all the fixins. totally impulsive, animal loving decision. i couldn't relate. but, i could photograph it. and, i must admit, by the end of the day i was kindof liking "cracker." but, i'm still glad he lives at their house and not mine!
back to monday...my desk is calling.

because above all else, i'm helpful...

so, you know how i said in my previous post that we got facials?

well, the lady who did the facials actually does them on the side. because her full time job is as a dermatological NURSE at a high end doctor's office. so, she had a lot of reliable and helpful information on skin care. i thought i would share the wealth, so, read on if you are interested.

first, for daytime, she highly recommends the Daily Serum product from CVS pharmacy. i guess ole CVS hit the jackpot with this line. chris, the nurse/facial/wonder-woman, said this product ranks higher in tests than all sorts of much more highly priced items. i guess it is packed out with stuff that is good for your face like amnio peptides. (whatever those are.) anyway, we all ran right out to CVS and picked one of these up. i've used it for two days now and LOVE it. it is silky smooth but not oily or heavy. you can thank me later. for nighttime chris recommends the RoC*Multi-Correction*Night*Treatment. it has retinol in it. and, i guess when the sun hits ole retinol it takes away all it's usefulness. so, you should only use it at night. who knew? anyway, i like this one too. i have to admit i was not using anything at night - terrible, i know! but, now i feel like i'm being so good to my skin every night before bed. all thanks to chris!
so there you have it. i paid real cash money for my fancy facial and all this helpful information and you just got it for free. am i great or what!?! : )

"if i had a nickel"

i'm just back from a great trip to nashville where i spent the weekend with these fine folks: it was so much fun! we drank lots of this:my friends are so amazing and talented.

amy and her sister own this very hip coffee shop in kingston*springs. friday night was their one year anniversary so we enjoyed the birthday party and the live music:then saturday, the girls got facials. darren decided he wanted in on the action so terri's facial turned into a "couples" deal. funny!!!we played lots of games. balderdash and poker being the favorites. i have not laughed that hard in a long time. so much laughter, so little time!
oh, and did you know? the side pony is BACK! here we are - rocking the new look:this picture just about sums up the weekend:

and i love this one from the park.

and this one from the porch. i love these people!

such a fun weekend. but i'm still exhausted. i may be getting to old for all that fun, but, i'm gonna keeping having it anyway. they are that worth it! : )

It's Your Lucky Day

Your favorite guest blogger is back...

TLNW here. We are having the time of our lives here in Kingston Springs. Carissa has commissioned me to jot a quick update. (You know how she loves having a "staff.") Anyway...it's been a fun weekend, and that's an understatement. We're sitting at Red Tree Coffee right now eating and drinking and playing Wii. Last night we were at 3rd and Lindsley listening to Rick Huckaby and Blue Mother Tupelo. (Rick had the CUTEST guitar player and I was able to talk him into going home with me.) Cutie...that's all I've got to say. After 3rd & Lindsley we headed back to Amy B's and played a little poker. They ended up with ALL my money. I can't think of anyone I'd rather give my money to than these folks.

I've run out of things to tell you. We didn't get much sleep last night and I'm a little foggy. I'll post another guest blogger entry later. Love you guys, and I mean it...even if I don't know you yet.
-TLNW

fear...

you know how sometimes you feel like something is running your life? taking over? setting up residence and resistant to eviction?

i'm familiar with this feeling.

and the last few days...fear is my annoying tenant.

the stuff i'm fearful of is real. it could happen. it may be happening a little bit right now. but it does not deserve the star treatment i am giving it.

and i WISH, so badly, that i could walk away from fear, tell it to move out - or at least turn down it's da$m stereo.

but, i'm struggling. and i'm tired. and i'm afraid. so, it is what it is. and i'm blogging about it because sometimes that helps. we shall see.

a few highlights...

...from the weekend. it was pretty laid back as weekends go. and very very very rainy! my word, i am ready to see the sun in b-town! scheeesch!

anyway...friday night...i hung out with emily and janna. dinner and then target. now what is more fun than that?! we even rode out a severe thunderstorm in target. emily shopped and janna and i lounged in the outdoor furniture section. they are both dear friends! i'm so blessed!then saturday night i enjoyed the "ladies salad supper" at my church. here's a shot of my table. what neat women! loved spending the evening with them! it's monday now, and still no sunshine. but surely it has to come out tomorrow. bet my bottom dollar that tomorrow, there'll be sun? didn't someone promise that once??!!

i am the proud new owner of...

this little number:

nothing like a little "vera" to brighten a rainy sunday! : )

my friend tracy and our friend katie made the trek to the holy grail of all things "vera" this weekend...the annual trunk show and warehouse sale! this year it was in the "all-things-fantastic" ft. wayne, in. but, location aside, the sale was a big success for tracy and katie. and me, so it seems. tracy got this darling bag for me for a mere $10. i love a good deal!

thanks tracy! thanks katie! thanks vera!

coming soon to a mailbox near me....the mod*floral*pink*cargo*sling! how exciting!

schools out, for summer...well, almost!

i had my last gathering of the "sggg - small group girls group" this past thursday morning. can i just tell you, i know some AMAZING 5th graders. check em out: we also took a picture with "the dew" - because we love "the dew." these girls are SO great! i love meeting with them each thursday. getting to know each other better. listening to one another. laughing together. lots of laughing together, in fact. they are just fun! and sweet. and smart. and hilarious. i'm lucky to know them. and i'm blessed to spend a morning each week with them.