Savannah Scrapbooking

I blame the wedding dress...

Bouyed by the chuckle-fest that resulted from me trying on my seventeen year old wedding dress, I figured what the hell, and grabbed my senior prom dress.

Yes, I still have my senior prom dress... don't you?  We nabbed it from my mom's house a couple years ago for my kiddo to use as a dress up costume, and as we were rearranging all of our closets, it was unearthed in all of it's 1990's, sequined, mermaid skirted glory.

I'm sorry I don't have a photo from my prom to show you... it was SO pretty and my hair was SO big.  I felt like a movie star when I wore it that night. 

Oh, wait... I also need to say that I bought a swim cap today. 

I was pretty excited about it, and figured it was a perfect accessory to the prom dress.

Whaddya think?

What?

You no likey?

How about this one...

Just for the record, I weighed 35 pounds less twenty one years ago when I looked like a movie star in this dress.  I'd say that's a testament to the power of spandex and zippers. 

Okay, quick... slip on your senior prom dress and show and tell!!

 

In the Closet...

Yep, it's where I've been. 

My NEW WALK-IN CLOSET, that is!!

I'm not kidding, after having a big fat walk-in closet at our old house, I've been in storage withdrawal for the last three years.  But my precious man-hunk figured out a way to close in an alcove in our hallway.

(Oh yeah, you know you're coveting our snazzy, naked boobed, hanging lamp in the corner, and the retro blue tile bathroom.)

So here's the new wall...

And let's take a walk around the corner and take a peeky poo at the finished product...

Wheeeeeeeee!!!

There's a bunch of shelves behind the door too.  I'm so organized, I'll probably never find my stuff.  I took all my clothes out of the teeny tiny little closet they were living in, and Big Dave moved his into it.  (He was using an extra closet in Miss Priss' room, which was kind of awkward.)

And while cleaning out my old closet, I found...

MY WEDDING DRESS.

So.

Of course I had to try it on.

I mean heck, it's only been SEVENTEEN years.  How much could I have possibly changed in that paltry amount of time, right?

Right?

Right?

I know what you're thinking...  "Wow, that dress sure looks like shit, but Jamie looks fresh as a Daisy!"

Right?

Um, maybe I need to go back in the closet.

...

Right?

 

 

 

 

The Return to Manlandia...

Get my hard hat and steel toe boots ready, it looks like I'm heading back over the big bridge to my  old job at Savannah Marine Repair, aka 'Manlandia.' 

No no, I don't really have to wear the hat and boots, because I don't actually go out on the worksite, but I am definitely in a testosterone infused environment. 

So far, it looks like my job will entail wrangling all the paperwork necessary for SMR's Navy contracts...

Like for this barge thingy.

Hmmm... perhaps I need to brush up on my nautical vocabulary.  Let's see, Starboard is front and Aft is left, right?

Nah, I'm just kidding... I know which way is up on a vessel, believe it or not.  Chuckle... I said, "vessel."  See how knowledgable I am? 

So I'm actually back in the world of working stiffs again, although this job has some seriously fabulous flexibility and the people are fun to be around so it's not a bad thing at all.  In fact, I'm looking forward to getting a paycheck... hmmm, what should I buy first???

;)

OMG... I've got Sciurus Carolinensis!

Sshhhhhh...

Don't tell.

It's true though.

I've got a

S

Q

U

I

R

R

E

L

{nest}

in my garage.

It's snuggly situated right smack dab in the middle of a pile of beach chairs up on a shelf. 

Mama Squirrel was very industrious here. 

And she's only scared the holy living shit crackers out of us twice as she's scurried away from her babies when we've gotten too close.  I guess she thinks that either a.) We'll follow her away from the nest or b.) If we're gonna eat her babies, she's gettin' the hell out of Dodge.

Damn squirrel.

I love her.

And her squeaky little babies.

 

 

The Red Door...

Okay, so maybe Feng Shui isn't your thing, and honestly it's never been my thing either, but I've always heard that if you paint your front door red then you'll attract wealth and prosperity.  

We used to have a rust colored door at our old house, which is technically kinda of red I think, but the house faced East, and apparently the color of the door depends on the direction in which it is facing... which is probably why we never saw any Feng Shui benefits.  So a south facing front door, painted red is optimal... hence my freshly painted south facing, RED front door.

Since painting the door red three weeks ago the following has happened:

~I was randomly asked to sub at SCPS for a week which produced a what?  A PAYCHECK.

~We received our income tax refund that happened to be TRIPLE what we were expecting. (Which we promptly used to pay for my 40th birthday cruise... hehehe!!)

~I received a $100 refund check from the homeschool co-op we attended the first half of this school year b/c we aren't going back for the second half.  TOTALLY unexpected.

~While at a dental appointment, my dentist asked me if I would create an album for pay.  Worth HUNDREDS.  Um... YES.

~And then Savannah Marine Repair called me out of the blue to ask me to come back to work, on a part time basis.  What??? You mean I can go back to work and earn some bucks and STILL be the mom and daughter I want to be?  Oh heck yes.

~Our new insurance requires us to get our prescription meds from only a few designated providers, one of which is Kroger.  When you order a new med from Kroger, you get $25 in FREE groceries.  I ordered a new med today and received my free food.  Ahhh...

Well... howdee doo!

Mama likey the RED front door!! ;) 

Random Happy Stuff...

This was a good week.

Big Dave has gone back to working days after having been on 3-11 for the last month, so life around Dhuland is finally getting back on a more tolerable schedule.  Don't get me wrong, Miss Priss and I sure do enjoy stopping at Sonic or eating Froot Loops and Honeycombs for dinner, but I was starting to miss our family meals at the dinner table that actually include VEGETABLES and a daddy.

Plus I hate hate hate the thought of my boy driving home on those dark, creepy little highway roads at midnight after a long shift.  Ick.  It shoots my old nerves to pieces.  I like  knowing he's home, snoring like a grizzly bear on the couch while I watch American Idol.

In addition to having my man back in his proper time zone, I also had an opportunity to do a little scrapbooking for a new client.  I've been hired to do ALL sorts of albums, but this one was really special because my task was to capture the journey made by my client's best friend who, thirteen years ago, gave birth to preemie quadruplets.  Neato right? 

Unfortunately one of the babies died after only two weeks, and the family's grief was documented in letters and emails that were to be included in the album.  Even with this sadness, the new parents still had SO much to be joyful for, as well as very little time to dwell on their loss.  They were forced to march on and be awesome.  And awesome they were!  I laughed and cried and shook my head as I read the printed emails and looked at the photos of those teensy tiny two pound babies. 

It was a surprising blessing for me to be able to do this book.  It turned out pretty nice, if I do say so myself, but I didn't take any photos of it because I figured that it wasn't really mine to share.  Needless to say, it was 36 pages of sweetness.

All that scrappin' got my creative juices flowin', and I'm dying to get back up in the Penthouse and do a some pages for myself.  Hmmm... maybe tomorrow.

Here's a brief recap of some other coolness that happened this week:

Swimming with Sid

Got my roots done

Saw an otter

Got Miss Priss' hair dyed back to the color God gave her

Ate oysters and drank wine by the fire pit

Ran my fastest pace for 5.6 miles

Saw ANOTHER otter

Got a $100 refund check that I wasn't expecting

Weighed 139 on the scale... TWO days in a row (Haven't weighed since... too scared.)

Yep.  It was a gooooooood week.

Let's talk romance...

'Round Dhuland, we specialize on romancin' you know, so of course we like to do things right when it comes to Valentine's Day. 

Take for example my gift to Big Dave...

Nothing says romance like Aunt Joyce's banana puddin' by candlelight. (I made the pudding with AJ's recipe... and used the beautiful crystal compote she gave me for Christmas.  Fancy.)

My sweet boy's eyes lit up when he saw that puddin'.  What can I say... it's enchanting.

I also grilled steaks for us and had dinner ready and waiting for him.  And only a small part of his steak was so raw he couldn't eat it... I'd say that's not too bad for my inaugural solo steak grilling attempt, and the dogs enjoyed it.

I think he was happy.

Of course he always surprises me with sweetness, and this year was no different.  He came walking up the sidewalk with this big ol' bear balloon who we've named Boinky Bear. 

Why Boinky Bear?  Well, if you know us then you know that our nicknames for each other are Boonk and Boonkie... well, in his haste to sign the card he wrote this on the envelope:

And here's how he signed the card...

Yes, we are officially Boink and Boinky for the day.  {giggle}

Sigh... I love him.

And this...

He surprised me with a red, glittery, Valentine for my charm bracelet.  He's my sweetheart.

I love my romancin' redneck. 

And he wasn't even {too} mad when I showed him the gift I bought for myself... I'm all about romancin' myself you know.   

It's a Garmin GPS sportswatch... and that maniacal gleam in my eye is that of a woman who has wrapped her claws around a uber super duper toy that she's been wanting for months.  Happy Valentine's Day to ME!

So... did you have a fun day?  Any romance you want to share? Oh DO tell!

A word from the cat about tutus...

Yo, this is Trixie reporting in from the kitchen table.  I know my mom is all about trying new things and showing them off on this here blog, but don't let her fool you. 

Most of the time, it's actually ME who is working her paw pads to the bone to come up with the cuteness that she takes credit for. But NOT TODAY folks, I have hard proof that I am the creative genius in this house, and therefore should receive the accolades which I know you are about to bestow on the adorrrrable tutu I created.

See, here I am diligently sorting the tulle...

...it takes a lot of effort to get it folded perfectly so you can cut into strips...

...and of course you have to get it to lay flat so you get the precise measurements. Duh...

I mean, do you expect 'her highness' to get up here on the table and do it? Um, that would be 'NO.'

Sigh ~~ It's a cat's life... always getting the blame for clawing up the tulle,  but now you know the truth. 

And how cute is this tutu anyhow?

Can you say 'kitty genius?'

MeOW!

 

Nine miles...

We did it! Mendy, Tricia and I braved the gusty winds and the {brrrrr} chilly temps to head out for a run along the old Tybee railroad path.  In running this morning, we honored the memory of Sherry Arnold, who went out for her usual run one morning in January and never came back.  It's a heartbreaking story. 

Her cousin, who has a blog called Shut Up and Run, created a 'virtual run' by which to honor and remember Sherry's life.  So Mendy, Tricia and I donned our commemorative bibs and snapped this pic before our run...

We even saw another runner wearing a bib too! 

It was a gorgeous day, sure the wind was sort of OUT OF CONTROL, but it  made me feel like I was flying when it was pushing at my back.  We put nine miles under our treads, and I only had to blow my nose in my shirttail 4 times. 

I'd say that was a pretty good day. 

Here's to you Sherry!

;)

Running and Remembering...

Planning on going for a run this Saturday?  A walk?  A jog?

I am.

I'm planning to run with some friends, on the old railroad trail out off of Highway 80 (Tybee)...

And I'm going to be wearing this bib...

...in honor of a woman I never met, but will never forget.  Sherry, a mother, a teacher, a sister, left her house a few of weeks ago on a Saturday morning for her usual run.  She never returned.

Here's the link to her cousin's blog post:  http://www.shutupandrun.net/2012/01/virtual-run-for-sherry-arnold-february.html

If you're going to move your body this Saturday, I'd love for you to consider printing a bib and wearing it while you think about Sherry.  People all over the world will be doing the same thing.  It's kind of awesome.

Perhaps you'd like to tackle the old railroad trail with us... we'll be there around 10:30.