Sometimes I Wish...

...that I was a true photographer. If only I knew how to operate my camera. And had time to edit photos. Maybe one day I will take the time to learn about my camera (Nikon D90) and all that jazz about aperture, fstop, etc. etc. etc.

Until then, I just go with it and have fun! Since my family was gathered up for my grandmother's birthday this past weekend, we got plenty of pictures in. I was more than happy to torture my sweet family with the constant clicking of my camera.

My favorite person that I tormented was my daddy. I had a lot of fun messing with him! But he was a good sport and let me click away.

After getting some pictures with the birthday girl, I took a few pictures of my cousin, Gary Wayne and his family with the lady of the hour.

Everyone was so squinty in all of the pictures. The sun was brutal. But we championed on!

Finally, I got to have some fun!

Here I am getting my bossy pants on directing my daddy to his bad knee. No pain, no gain, Michael.
I can probably narrate these next few pictures.

Mike: I have to give her a flower?

Mike: Here Cathy. I don't know what to do with this.

Cathy: See, Mike. It's not that bad.

Mike: Chuckle, chuckle. Hurry up Ashley.

Mike: Here.

Cathy: How sweet!

Ashley: Perfect. Now Daddy, smile.

Mike: How about I throw this big fake spider on her instead of flowers?

Mike: Hee hee hee

Cathy: I don't think so, Mike Purvis!! SHRIEK! I'll put you in a headlock.

Ashley: Umm...that's a wrap.

That was quite interesting to say the least. But it was pretty funny.

Next up I took a few pictures of the boys up in a pecan tree. Barrett, of course was in no mood to cooperate! But a got a few decent, halfway normal looking faces.

By the end of all the crazy photo taking, everyone just let loose. I even convinced Gary Wayne to lay down and pose for me. It was hilarious. He's such a good model!

So there is all my pictures from the weekend. I had a blast doing it and I look forward to my next opportunity to get some more pictures in. Thanks goodness Easter is next weekend! :-D

90 Years Young

This past weekend, our family got to celebrate a very special milestone- my grandmother's 90th birthday. I have been blessed with two of the best grandmothers in the world and it is always a joy to celebrate them!

Mama Bernice with her two sons

My mother went all out to decorate for this special occasion. She did an outstanding job!

 

 If you can't tell, my grandmother loves pink, so we made sure to have it extra pink for her party!
Here she is on the morning of her birthday, when she was finally allowed to look at what all we did for the party. Her reaction was priceless!

Mom found some cute bird place card holders that we turned into photo displays. I went through some old albums and pulled out a few pictures from when my grandmother was younger.

Mama Bernice is the blond baby in the picture. Photo is circa 1924

I liked this picture, because it was taken on her 36th birthday in 1959. The little blond boy on the right is my daddy :D

 Of course, we ate way too much food and had too much cake! But it was all so good!

 Barrett was confused when he saw only 3 candles on the cake. He exclaimed "She's not 3, she's old!" and just couldn't understand. We said that each candle was for 30 years of life.

 We finished up the evening with some music. Mama Bernice loves to sit and listen to the guys play their guitars, so they played for her.

All in all, it was a wonderful party for a very special woman. I am truly blessed to have her as a grandmother.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAMA BERNICE! LOVE YOU!

What I've Been Reading

David gave me a book to read a few months ago and swore that I would like it. I found it hard to believe, since the book he gave me revolved around building a Medieval Cathedral. But, I know he has good taste in books, so I took on the monstrous almost 1,000 page book. It is called The Pillars of the Earth.

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Here is the overview of the book from Barnes and Nobles:

"As a new age dawns in England's twelfth century, the building of a mighty Gothic cathedral sets the stage for a story of intrigue and power, revenge and betrayal.


Ken Follett, internationally-acclaimed master of split-second suspense, author of six #1 bestsellers, reaches beyond the expected to achieve his most brilliant and remarkable novel. The epic story of the building of a cathedral in 12th century England and the lives of the people entwined with it and each other is a sensuous, enduring narrative, and a gripping tale of faith, ambition, bloodshed and betrayal."

I couldn't put the book down. Oh-so-good. I have read two more of Ken Follett's books since this one, and I'm working on the third. So let's just say- I'm a fan. Granted, I'm a history nerd and I love reading historical books and the author in every book I have read, is able to intertwine the historical with a good drama. The perfect balance.

The second book in the series is World Without End. It continues the epic story that was began in Pillars, but continues with a few generations down the line.

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 Here is the B&N overview for this book:

"In this “epic” (The Denver Post) sequel to The Pillars of the Earth, it is now two centuries after the townspeople of Kingsbridge have finished building its exquisite Gothic cathedral. And on a cold November day, four children slip into the forest and witness a killing—an event that will braid their lives together by ambition, love, greed, and revenge...."

These two books have been made into movies, and I really want to see both of them one day!
The next set of books I am reading by Ken Follet is a trilogy that follows several American, Russian, German, and British families. First through WWI, then WWII, and finally the Cold War. The first two books are out presently and the third is still waiting to be released.

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I have never read any book revolving around the first World War and I have to admit- I really enjoyed getting a taste of the history behind it all. Here is the overview from Barnes and Nobles:

"Ken Follett’s magnificent new historical epic begins, as five interrelated families move through the momentous dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women’s suffrage.

A thirteen-year-old Welsh boy enters a man’s world in the mining pits.…An American law student rejected in love finds a surprising new career in Woodrow Wilson’s White House.… A housekeeper for the aristocratic Fitzherberts takes a fateful step above her station, while Lady Maud Fitzherbert herself crosses deep into forbidden territory when she falls in love with a German spy.…And two orphaned Russian brothers embark on radically different paths when their plan to emigrate to America falls afoul of war, conscription, and revolution.

From the dirt and danger of a coal mine to the glittering chandeliers of a palace, from the corridors of power to the bedrooms of the mighty, Fall of Giants takes us into the inextricably entangled fates of five families—and into a century that we thought we knew, but that now will never seem the same again.…"

Sooo good! It was so good that I couldn't wait to run to the book store to get the second book, Winter of the World, so I downloaded it to my phone, so I could listen to it on my recent trip up to Charleston. I am now like a person living in the 40s myself, sitting in my chair but instead of listening to the radio, I'm listening to my phone! I always prefer having an actual book to read (no ereaders for me) but it is nice to get a break and just listen, since every book I have read of this authors is at a minimum of  800 pages.

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Here is the overview from B&N for this book:

"Ken Follett follows up his #1 New York Times bestseller Fall of Giants with a brilliant, page-turning epic about the heroism and honor of World War II, and the dawn of the atomic age.


Ken Follett’s Fall of Giants, the first novel in his extraordinary new historical epic, The Century Trilogy, was an international sensation, acclaimed as “sweeping and fascinating, a book that will consume you for days or weeks” (USA Today) and “grippingly told and readable to the end” (The New York Times Book Review). “If the next two volumes are as lively and entertaining as Fall of Giants,” said The Washington Post, 'they should be well worth waiting for.'"

These war novels go back and forth between characters, families, and countries. There is a lot of historical action going on, but a few love stories too. So that helps for the lady readers :-)

So throw your hands up for some history and go grab a copy of one of these books! They aren't the least bit boring, I promise. If you are like me, once you start reading, you can't put them down!

Charles Town

I had an absolute fabulous weekend! David and I went up to Charleston, SC for a wedding and it was absolutely awesome. The weather was to die for. I mean, it was the perfect walking around the downtown of a southern city.

I took a half day on Friday, to be sure that we could make it for dinner to meet up with David's old college buddy, Cooper. We ended up eating at the newly opened Rarebit. It was oh-so good. Except next time we go, I hope it doesn't come with a side of David's ex-girlfriend like this visit did. :-) We just had to laugh about it! I would definitely recommend the place.

All of the wedding guests stayed at the Old Citadel, which has now been converted into a hotel. It was the original location for the Citadel Military College. Thought it was fitting that we stayed there!



It was a beautiful, unique place to stay.

Crappy iphone pic!

Saturday, we ventured to the present day Citadel to hit up the gift shop and look around.

 You may can tell looking from the new Citadel and the old Citadel all of the similarities of architecture.

I made David pose in front of the Citadel ring. I guess it wasn't there when he was there and he thinks its a little how-do-you-say, tacky?

But after inspecting it close up, it really was neat to look at.

We then picked up our friend Lauren and hit downtown for lunch and to spend some time before it was time to go to the wedding.

The wedding was at  Charles Towne Landing. Absolutely beautiful. I hate that I only took one whole photo while we were there. (and none of David and I all dressed up!)

Alan and Christina got married under a canopy of oak trees. It was so, so pretty and the perfect evening for a wedding!

Sunday, we took a few minutes to walk along the Battery before we left. That's when I took the only picture of the two of us. And not looking quite as good as we did the day before all jazzed up.

Well, that about sums up our weekend in Chucktown.

Until next time, my love!

What's Up, Google?

Not cool, not cool at all! Google is doing away with it's Reader feed. So...new options have to be looked into. I added my blog to BlogLovin, if you want to add me to that! I'll try it for awhile and see if I like this feed. Fair well, my dear friend Google Reader :-(

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Oh, Wally World

I generally make it a rule of thumb to avoid Wal-Mart like the plague. When you go there, it's almost like entering a complete new universe. My local Wally World is the worst of the worst. It's small and it's always crowded. No matter what time you go, what day of the week- the masses are always there. And of course, there are only 3 cashier lanes open at any given time, so the line is always 20 people deep to check out.

I always pick out the rickety buggy with the one bum wheel that squeaks and moans like it's going to fall off at any given moment. Plus, it pulls to one direction or the other, so you have to push it sideways to make it go in a half-way straight line. It. Never. Fails. Then you have to drive like a Nascar driver to get around all of the oblivious people that must make Wal-Mart their one weekly activity that they relish- and take their dear time getting what they need. When I go in, I have a mission. I get in and I get out. No messing around to browse and shop. No thank you. I try to be courteous and get out of people's way if I am in front of something they need. I don't park my buggy in the middle of the aisle and chit chat with someone else, blocking the whole aisle. And don't even get me started on the children in there. It's like parents around the world feel that Wal-Mart is the discipline free zone and allow their kids to go buck wild in there, and harass the other shoppers. It's pure madness, I tell ya. Those Finding Bigfoot people should change their tactics of where they look for those things. I have a feeling there is probably a squatch or two lurking around a random Wal-Mart somewhere and the sad thing is, that no one would even notice. Heck, I bet one of them is actually featured on that People of Wal-Mart website. It's the perfect place to go purchase some Jack Links for a squatch. I digress.

I say all of this as a preface, just so you know- I don't do Wal-Mart. So, the fact that David and I went in there on Saturday is kind of a big deal and pigs were probably flying overhead while we were in there. The only reason we went in there was to go get the new Twilight DVD. I never saw it while it was in the theater and David was going to be sweet and watch it with me. Needless to say, there wasn't a single one on the shelf. Zip. Nada. None. I would say that they had sold out, but I really just have a feeling that someone was too lazy to restock the shelf. Strike one for this Wal-Mart adventure. Strike two was it taking 20 minutes to check out. Ridiculous.

However, there was a couple of redeeming things about this trip. One of those redeeming qualities really, had zero to do with Wal-Mart itself.

Yes, you see that correctly. It's the happiest time of the year! Girl Scout cookie time! Sadly, we were informed that there were no Thin Mint cookies to be found in Thomas County. They were all sold out. But I was still thrilled with our loot nonetheless- sans Thins Mints and all.
If you also notice in my picture, there are a few yellow colored drops of joy included.

I was so delighted to see that Wal-Mart had some Meyer Lemons for sale. Totally made my day. I love these bad boys. They are sooooo much better than the regular lemons that you normally buy at the grocery store. Usually, you have to beg some off of people who have a Meyer Lemon tree in their yard to get your hands on these things. So that really made the horrendous trip to Wal-Mart worth it all. I turned the proverbial lemons into lemonade, but for real!

Miss Me?!?

Well, howdy strangers! I have taken quite the blogging break, have I not? Life is just clicking along rapidly here lately, and I haven't taken the time to sit down and blog. It's a habit that I have gotten out of, but hopefully, I will try and get back in the swing of things.

I figured that I would just do a quick little post about what's been happening in my neck of the woods lately. Which I have to admit, isn't much!

Let's see...I've traveled to Dallas for work. It was a quick 3 day trip and boy was I a tired pup when I got back! We got a lot accomplished while we were there.

 We met with two of our biggest clients, whose headquarters are both based out of Dallas. One of our meetings went very well and it looks like I will get to be in Vegas for my birthday, since we are going to be a sponsor of their annual GM conference. Think that should be a good way to ring in the big 3-2. Thunder from Down Under, anyone? I kid.

 We were able to find a new office for the Dallas staff while we were there. So basically, lots of meetings and lots of looking at properties. The office we finally settled on is quite "Texan" as you can see in the picture below.

When you have a longhorn in your hammered sink- you are quite the fan! I got to pick out some furniture and stuff for the conference room and we are going with a nice southwestern theme since the interior flooring, etc has that vibe. I almost pulled the trigger on a cow-skinned rug for that room, but decided not to get too crazy. (that made me think of Bon Qui Qui for some reason. "Welcome to King Burger, where you can have it your way. But don't get crazy.)

So that's the work front.  Oh- my boss decided to play a prank on me.

Yeah, he got his tow truck buddy to come act like he was there to repo my car. It was one of those situations that I knew there was no way my car was up for repo, but it still freaked me out. Randy even took the time to type up a ghetto looking repo notice. We all had a good laugh, and now I'm racking my brain to think of pay back.

David and I have been taking things easy here of late. About the only big thing we have attended was the Rattlesnake Roundup back in January. We are wild! We have had a few warm weekends and we do take full advantage of those when they come along.

We invested in a yard golf set. David and I can get pretty heated during a match! Moxley on the other hand hopes we miss, so he can steal the balls!

We have also enjoyed taking the pups for nice long walks around Ft. Pulaski. I love it out there. So pretty (and historical to boot!).

Speaking of dog walking, I have a new project. Operation Brutus Maximus. That is because his gluteous maximus is at a maximum. He is a chunk. Mimi has fed him well. Between the all you can eat buffet and him not letting JJ eat, he has grown quite large. So, I have him at the house and he is now on a diet and exercise regime.

He doesn't look too bad from this angle.

The aerial view tells another story. He's a sweet boy and enjoys his walks. So he will be back on track soon, even if he feels like I'm starving him to death!

My favorite moment from last weekend was watching my mom teach Barrett how to make biscuits. It was so cute.

There's just something about watching grandmothers teach their grandchildren that is so special.

Well, that's all that has been happening in my world of late. Hopefully this post will light a fire under my butt and make me blog more.

ta-ta for now!