oh, sure we did...

so, it's raining in b-town. which meant it was time for plan b. elizabeth got REAL excited about this spot when we were doing a quick driving tour of "the strip" yesterday...so, today...we went!i have one thing to say about a wax museum...PHOTO OPP!

here are of few of my "kings of the world"and who doesn't love getting to see dorothy and the gang?tami thought she was pretty funny at this moment: and tami, t, and i were VERY excited to celebrate with THE BEST DRIVER EVER! : )who can blame her???she really cracks me up...murph...i took this one for YOU!sikes was really excited he had remembered his eye patch!does it get any better than this??beam us up, scotty...we'd like to thank the academy...and the wonderful people at the hollywood*wax*museum...oh, and him, i'd really like to thank him. what a great boyfriend.

i have to admit i'm really glad elizabeth insisted on this little outing. hilarious!

my weekend, in review...

well, i love a friday night with two of my favorite people! janna, mary kay and i headed down to the landing this past friday and ate at a new restaurant. the food was good and the conversation was rich. love these ladies!we ended up chatting so long that mk and i had to rent a movie instead of go see one. which we both were more in the mood for anyway. we picked up this one:and it was SO good! very very sweet!

the rest of my weekend involved alot of this:and some of this:and even more of this:and let me tell ya...my house is sparkling and ready for guests! i'm really hoping they notice how clean my front door windows are. but even if they don't, i sure enjoy walking in my door everyday and seeing that crystal clear glass! it's good for the soul. : )

then, last night, i watched this DUMB show:
why do i do that to myself? really, someone tell me! but, at least i got to watch it with roberta. and she even brought pomtinis! so, that made the evening a winner!

there you have it. the quick update on me. now, i await the arrival of one sister, one friend, one nephew, one niece, one sikes, and one lilly...they are in route...and we are SO excited!

thursday 13...edie style!

(me and edie...circa 2003)

today's thursday 13 is dedicated to my dear friend edie who is celebrating a birthday today!

here are 13 things i love about edie!

1. she is so much fun to be around!
2. she provided me a home away from home when i lived in new york...and i loved every minute i spent there!
3. there was never a tuesday night that didn't work for her...she kept telling me to quit calling first and just COME ON OVER!
4. she is married to a really great guy. i have a little crush on him, in fact. but it's totally platonic, of course!
5. she gave birth to one of my very best friends in the whole wide world. i'm real grateful for that.
6. she is EASY! i always feel comfortable when i'm with edie!
7. she is 100% herself...all the time! and i love that in a person!
8. she is so great at throwing a party...and always willing to do so!
9. she loves her family with all her heart!
10. she has a welcome spirit...no one is a stranger to edie.
11. she is TALENTED...a true artist!
12. she is smart...but never a show off.
13. did i mention she is really, really, really fun and i LOVE to laugh with her??

happy birthday edie! i love you SO much!

seriously...

...sometimes, it is almost embarrassing how many quality people i get to interact with in b-town! the past 36 hours i've shared some really great time with a few of them. here's a little recap for you. just because you asked so nicely. oh wait...well...anyway, here goes:

i got to have lunch yesterday with my friend kate. she's so great. she doesn't hate. and she is SO not fake. okay, okay, i'll stop. but it's all true. i just love kate and our budding friendship! and kate really enjoyed her lunch, see: then last night i met these ladies at the landing for dinner: we had so much fun. and we got to sit outside because the weather was PERFECT! that little tidbit led to the fact that we were right next to the fountains. which led to the fact that we got to see the fountain show twice. which led to us hearing the song "it's a marvelous night for a moondance." which, in my opinion, is one of the most romantic songs EVER. i just love the vibe of it. well, at some point i say "i love this cat stevens song." to which roberta promptly replies: "that is NOT cat stevens." to which i reply: "oh, yes it is, i'm certain of it, this is one of my all time favorite songs." well, this went on and on - blah, blah, blah - roberta thinking she's right, me knowing i'm right, kerri trying to make peace - you get the picture. finally, i got home and got on you tube and found out TO MY UTTER AND SEVERE DISAPPOINTMENT that i was (and it's hard to type this next word) wrong. van morrison sang it. and i knew that!!!! i just had a momentary lapse - that may have lasted all evening - but, whatever. all that said, i think roberta and i are still friends. and i think kerri may very well think we are both crazy, and she may very well be right! : )

then today...i got to have lunch with sparky. oh sparky. have we talked about her lately? well, suffice it to say i'm real, real, real grateful for all things sparky. i'll just tell ya straight...i have no earthly idea what i'd do without her. and i have no earthly idea what either of us would do without our weekly lunch date!
so, there you have it. my last 36 hours and a little peek into the quality people i got to spend it with. i'm blessed, but i may have mentioned that before!

happy birthday mads!

i had a great time last night helping my friend madeline celebrate her 10th birthday! i am incredibly blessed to share life with some wonderful women AND their wonderful families! friendships that feel like a family are a gift i simply could not be more grateful for!

happy birthday mads! we SURE love you!

my weekend, in review...

i had a great weekend! started off the fun with these girls...and another meeting of the "ladies loaning library." i will admit, i had a somewhat bad attitude heading into the evening. but as always, these ladies were so much fun to be around that i enjoyed myself immensely! the rest of my weekend involved a lot of these:
and a little of this:

my mom and my aunt barbara had their annual tomato canning weekend. and i helped my mom and dad stain their deck. it was a labor intensive weekend but very productive and even quite enjoyable! the canning is a tradition. and a great one, at that! i just love my aunt barbara so much and it is always a treat to have her here and have her all to ourselves! we worked hard, but enjoyed every minute of it!here they are...with the fruits of their labor. they canned over 84 jars of tomatoes! there you have it, my weekend! now the countdown is on in b-town until the o'nan clan and the mcrae clan arrive for a week long visit! as you can imagine, we are getting pretty excited around here!

you're so fine...i bet you think this post is about you

ode to the green fine tip sharpie...

(a tribute in honor of kristin and the girls of the "ladies loaning library!")

thank you oh fine point green sharpie

you make a list a joy to me

may you never run out of your beautiful ink

and your point always drag smoothly

like a pupil in the front row

hand raised high up in the air

"pick me, pick me, pick me" you call

reject you i would not dare

my hand writing oh so bland

from day to day to day

but one letter, one word, one phrase with you

the beauty takes my breath away

you're always there when i need a pen

oh the games and scorecards we have been through

thank you fine point green sharpie

how i love to write with you

just typing that up brings a tear to my eye.

: )

who remembers that infamous moment in "fletch"?

to all my dedicated b-town readers...have i got some news for you!

i ate here last night: and it was DELICIOUS! everyone needs to get out there and try this place. i was so pleased with my asian chicken salad. and the atmosphere is nice but laid back. love that combo. and really, what can be wrong with a place where this guy actually dines?
oh yeah. he was there. with some friends. eating dinner. can you say "brush with fame?" cause i can! : )
but seriously, the food was yummy.
i know, i know...i'm helpful. it's like i just can't help it! : )

lylcayki...

• 2 friends
• 6 dr. peppers
• 1 rainy afternoon
• 2 chicken enchiladas
• 14 years living in this crazy town together
• 1 hot apple pie dessert
• 5 sassy blog comments insisting on this post!
• 1 waiter who refused to take the dirty dishes
• 1.5 hours of great conversation over lunch
• infinite amount of laughs over the years
• 1 cake class instructor who will never be forgotten...

add it all up and what do you have? finally...the much anticipated, and highly celebrated...

Blog Post Dedicated to DAWN!

oh yeah! she's great. she knows i think so. and now she has her own blog post!

peace out, my friend...until next time, that is!

you can thank me later...

in a word...delicious!

click here - you'll be glad you did!

music to my ears...

i had breakfast this morning with my friend susan. (love her!)

while chatting she told me she thought of me recently when she saw this headline:

Scientific Proof that Swearing Makes You Feel Better

well, let me tell ya, it makes a girl proud when her friends think of her at fine moments like this one.

anyway, i read the article, it is here.

and to these researchers i have only one thing to say: damn straight!

me and my potty mouth agree with you wholeheartedly!

ROCK ON with your bad self...

i had a terrific weekend! you know why? because i spent it with some really terrific people! my favorite family of j's came to b-town for a quick visit! we got out of the house a lot. which is really not like us! : )

friday night we headed down to the landing to see a billy*joel cover band. they were GREAT! loved the music, loved the location, loved the breeze when it kicked up, and loved the people i was with!we spent a lot of time at the pool. you can never go wrong with some fun in the sun. ALL the kids had a blast: then saturday night we got out AGAIN! i mean, really, look at us go! we went to see this show:

and it was really good. jan and i did get a good giggle out of the 'veteran tribute.' as my sister likes to say "it's always the 4th of july in branson." well, that proved true, even at a show about the british invasion! oh, i had to include this picture. we were reenacting a scene from friday night. cracking ourselves up is what we are doing. jenna would not join in on the fun. "what a shame," as she would say. i realized something about myself last week. i'm wired for long term. a true friendship in my life means you are stuck with me. nothing could be truer of my friend jan and her family. we are friends for life. and that fact makes my life all the sweeter!

play ball...

i spent some time at the ball fields this week watching this guy do his stuff! he is too cute...and growing up WAY too fast!
i also got to watch some other friends i know play. amazing to watch these kids grow up into semi adults right before my eyes. my friend zac (who i failed to get a picture of) was the pitcher on one of the teams and he just exuded confidence out there. very impressive!

one last pic...3 out of 5 of the browns. i love me some browns, let me tell ya!

too bad baseball season is almost over. sure is fun to watch and cheer!

a little walk down memory lane...

i love an old friend.

there is really nothing i value more in life than the history of long standing relationships.

there is a value to being known and loved by someone, over the long haul, that blesses in a way that is just plain good for my soul.

i am blessed to have quite a few friends like that. and one of them is my friend amy. we got to have lunch this week and it reminded me how grateful i am for friends who know me well, and love me anyway!

so, today a tribute to one of those friends.

here are amy and i - circa 1996! we enjoyed lots of fun evenings on the showboat back in the day: and here we are in florence. circa 2004.

and here we are at lunch this week:

so grateful for you amy!

and so grateful for other friends and family like you. through thick and thin - we're in life together!

okay, i admit it...

some of you know this already...but at heart...i'm a total dork! can you say "bookworm" and mean it? well, i can. and i proved it this past friday! to start my holiday weekend i read this book:

start to finish. cover to cover. beginning to end. (you get the idea.) oh yes, i read the whole thing ON FRIDAY! i'm a dork. but it sure made for a glorious afternoon of alone time lost in a cute story.

i got my "i'm fun i just sometimes forget it" groove back on saturday. the fun times at kaa are chronicled here but even before all that began i enjoyed a lovely breakfast with these ladies:

two of them have moved away from b-town and were in town visiting and one of them i just simply never see. so, it was so great to get to catch up with them a bit. i love it when you see people after a long stretch of not seeing them and can just pick up right where you left off! what a blessing!

then, sunday night the fun continued. i saw this movie:

with my friend karen and then we topped the evening off with dessert. it was so great to just visit and laugh. and laugh we did, by the way. because this movie is FUNNY! i recommend it! it is sweet and funny. my favorite kind of flick!

celebrating independence at kaa...

i spent the 4th of july holiday out at kaa with these fine folks:it was lots of laid back fun. including:

lots of swimming by the kids: homemade ice cream making by sparky and mk:

goggle wearing by cute little boys:i won't say whose feet these are but i will say they cracked us up!and i won't say whose bottom this is but it sure is cute!there was lots of fun hang out time with dear friends:

oh, and lots of chicken eating by everyone:there were also fireworks and sparklers, but, by that time i was too tired to take pictures. so, i'll leave you with this cute one, just for fun: good times with great people! i'm blessed, have i mentioned that lately?

my own little book review....

i finished this ADORABLE book last weekend: i can't recommend it highly enough. if you are looking for a light, fun, summer read pick this one up. this book is funny, whimsical, delightful and FULL OF HEART! i loved every minute of it. and i have a feeling you will too!