First stop Greensboro-Next step Hollywood

I've got to get my cell phone fixed because I'm sure Brad Pitt is going to be calling any minute.

I rarely see this hour of the day, but I'm up early because my public awaits. I got a call from the lady who heads up the running school asking me to do another interview. I'm going to be on the "Good Morning Show"-no, not Good Morning America. This is just our little local morning show so all of the early birds have something to watch before the good shows come on. This interview is going to be live, so I'm going to try to look a little less goofy than last time.

I go on at 6:30. Wish me luck.

Did I mention that the funniest thing about this whole situation is that I'm still a crappy runner? Seriously, I'm still going to have to walk a little bit on Saturday. I am getting better though and I can certainly run a lot more than I could before.

like spring break only old and lame

We just had a wet t-shirt contest at our house!

I went to rinse off our dirty dinner dishes and discovered that the sprayer was stuck on squeeze. Fortunately for hubby, I was wearing a white t-shirt. It shocked me so I squealed and then let it spray all over the floor before I thought to turn it off.

Freddie was so nice to go and get me a new shirt and I quickly told him that I was not rinsing the rest of the dishes.

Unfortunately, I didn't actually get the nozzle fixed, so a minute later I heard another scream and Fred came in showing his nips.

It was a good night.

too weird

Oh my gosh. My mom is on facebook!

Is it wrong that I thought about declining her friend request?

always a lady

I rented a movie from the Redbox tonight. When it came out of the machine, I said "thanks." I didn't realize I was crazy until after it came out of my mouth.

off the florida keys...

We just returned from a great trip to the Florida Keys. We enjoyed two great vacations there during our younger, and poorer, days and had been dying to return to a favorite little spot RIGHT on the water in Long Key, so that was Freddie's surprise for his 30th birthday. We had one evening elsewhere as we made our way down after a late arrival on Thursday. We decided to make our way south and stay in Key Largo. We found a great deal at a Hilton resort and really enjoyed that too. As expected, our standards have gone up a bit, though we still really enjoyed our little place in Long Key. However, I think we'll be looking for something different next time :) We really had a blast. We went to the dolphin research center, snorkeling, fishing, beaching, and enjoyed lots of great fish. Here are a few fun shots from our trip.

pickle

I just returned from a great vacation and I have a little note in my calendar of all of the random things I've been meaning to blog about for the last couple of months, but that can wait. For now, I'm in a major pickle.

Chuck, How I Met Your Mother, and Gossip Girl are all on at the same time. My DVR will only record two shows at once! What to do?

grandma dot

My father in law's mother, Grace, died when he was just a little boy. He had two younger brothers and the smallest was just a baby. She was in an automobile accident. As was customary in those days, the boys went to live at an orphanage rather than be raised by their working father. He would come and get them on the weekends, but for the most part, that was their home for several years until their father met Dot. A young woman in her mid twenties, she was actually friends with Grace's younger sister and remembers hearing the accident in downtown Greensboro when the girls were younger. Dot and Fred Jr. dated for a while and Dot began to be like a mother to the boys though she was just a young woman herself. When they finally did marry, when my father in law, the oldest-Fred III, was just seven, she raised them and loved them like her own. She later gave birth to three of her own children a girl and two more boys. When the younger children were still small, Dot lost her husband to heart problems at a young age. She loved, nurtured, and provided for 6 children on her own. She's an amazing woman.

Today those children, Fred, Charlie, Ray, Laura, John, and Richard, are instrumental figures in many people's lives. Two of them are local doctors, and one son, the one who was always a cut up and drove his mama crazy, is a local developer who runs one of the most successful small businesses, though not so small any more, in Greensboro. They are all amazing people in their own right. Every year, those six children, fifteen grandchildren, eight great grandchildren and many spouses, gather at Figure Eight Island for a week. Grandma Dot has spent countless hours rocking babies on the porch of that beach house. It's her sanctuary. This year we didn't know if Gran Dot would make it to the beach.

In February, she was diagnosed with a rare stomach tumor that was in pretty advanced stages. She's been through multiple surgeries and treatments, some successful, some not so much. She made it to the beach where she loved on our current littlest one, Mackenzie. Early in the trip, she started feeling pretty badly and ended up having to go home to be hospitalized. It was a tearful goodbye as we filed out of the house one by one giving her tearful smiles and waves farewell. Slowly, we have come to accept that we might lose our matriarch and we have taken our opportunities to hear her stories once again, trying desperately to commit them to memory for fear they might be gone forever. We've heeded her advice and held on to her wisdom. We've hugged a bit tighter and tried to breathe deeper. We've prayed for healing, for cure, for strength, for answers, for patience, and finally for comfort and peace.

Today, Grandma Dot found her peace.

Yesterday was her 83rd birthday.

And though I lament my own small ones' loss of that opportunity to watch the sunset over the North Carolina coast enveloped in the loving arms of the woman who brought our family back together so long ago, I am thankful because she taught us to carry on in her footsteps.

90210h, this is getting interesting

So who do we think is Kelly's baby daddy? I'm guessing Steve.

so. painfully. awkward.

I'm sitting in Panera wearing a jacket that does not belong to me.

Why? Because I am prone to uncomfortable situations with strangers.

The only place I could find a free plug is in the meeting room that has whacked out temperature control. It goes from freezing to incredibly humid in rapid cycling intervals.

There were a lot of annoying people in here meeting with me when a guy came in and sat in the closest seat possible that wasn't at my table. Now it's just the two of us and we're pretty much snuggling. I can hear every crunch of his chips.

A minute ago, he stepped out for a second and noticed that I was hunched over. "Are you cold?", he asked.

"Yeah" I answered

"I'll get you a jacket." He offered

"Oh! (shocked) That's okay. It'll get hot in a minute."

"It's okay. I work for Panera."

(Well I'm sure you do, but I don't, so I don't need to wear one of your jackets)

Apparently he can't take no for an answer, so he brought me a jacket. Apparently I can because I'm wearing it.

Why is my life so uncomfortable?

I felt bad because he said he got it from his car. So, I put it over my shoulders. I'm leaving in two minutes, so I can give it back.

So weird. But, what it's actually not that weird because this kind of stuff happens to me all of the time. Seriously.

90210h, I'm lovin' it already!

I didn't watch it last night and I've been avoiding blogs just in case everyone else did. We got home late and I knew that Freddie couldn't hang for the 2 hour premier, so I put it off today. You like that don't you??? Isn't it great how I'm trying to get my husband hooked?

Anyway, we're premiering it tonight courtesy of DVR and it's FABULOUS (did you say that while squealing, cause I did?)

So I'm going to give a bit of running commentary as it comes to me. Or maybe not. I'll tell you what we've loved so far and if more comes to me after I hit publish I'll add it. If it bombs from this point on. Well, take what you can get.

First of all---(basically) THE SAME THEME SONG!! Do you love it, Melissa and Lindsay?

I've already paused several times to make connections for Freddie.

Do you think Erin "Silver" is David Silver's daughter? And...David was the DJ and she's into obscure music. Okay, wait. She's Kelly's sister. I forgot about that late series marriage. Well, maybe Uncle David will still show up late season.

How about TV news anchor Zuckerman-Vasquez who looks like she's 30?! Love it! I wonder if "Ah"ndrea will show up. By the way, I hate people who fancify their names. There's a news anchor in Charlotte named Suz"ah"nne, however, her name used to be Suzanne.

I'm noticing that Kelly seems a little more like Val from What I Like About You than Kelly from West Beverly.

okay, a little more: Just saw the first preview for Shopaholic. yay!

Oh, Kelly has a baby. Now that's a twist. Still no Brenda sighting.

Update: Freddie just pointed out that Ethan is didn't need to ride with his grandmother which means two things: 1. He likes Annie and wants to see her. 2. He's a nice guy who hangs out with his grandma. Freddie, it actually means one more thing. 3. You're getting hooked!