So, it has been a while since I last blogged, and that might be the understatement of the century. I apologize. I even started a blog a couple of weeks ago and just never published it, and now it wouldn’t make since.

So, let’s do a REAL quick catch up. School’s out. I finished with a 4.0 and am now on to my internship, my final step before the big graduation in August. Daniel passed his preliminary dissertation—which is huge! This keeps him on track to becoming Dr. Daniel by Christmas 2012.

Also, now that I am working 40 hours a week, Caleb is at home with a nanny. He continues to go to our church Monday through Thursday in the morning, then goes home with Chelsea, his new bud. Chelsea is a graduating senior that is a member of my old sorority. So, obviously we could trust her, right? Just kidding, but seriously, she was recommended by her roommate who was in my class, and she happens to be an HDFS major which is perfect for this kind of job. Unfortunately, Daniel gets home a good hour before me, so I don’t get to see her much and will not get to know her as well as I would like, but judging by Caleb, I’d say she is doing a marvelous job.

However, on that note, leaving Caleb has by far been the worst part of this job. I thought it would take a while to hit me, but I was in my third day of work and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I sat in his room that night just rocking him and rocking him long past when he was asleep, just so I could hold my sweet baby. It was like my dad said, we had been together for the past 10 months, and 9 months before that if you want to get technical.

I miss that little guy, plain and simple. But, I will say it makes my time with him that much sweeter.

Nonetheless, it makes me question being a working mom. I just don't know that it's the right move for my family and me. It works for some moms and it works great, but I am starting to feel I need to be home with my babies :). We'll see, I am praying for a part time job come the fall. I think that would be ideal, but God always seems to have a plan that is not necessarily what I expected, so until I find out I guess I will just be a waiting and willing subject to do as He sees fit.

Bonkers for Beanie Babies

Oh yes, how could I write on toys of the 90s and not include the ever popular Beanie Babies. You would have thought it was the second coming the way people went nuts over these things. I can't think of a Beanie Baby I didn't have. Oh, and the bears, the bears were the ones you really wanted. They always said they would be the ones that would be worth something. Man, I have so many of those dang bears, where is my money?

I do remember my first BB ever- Blackie. I slept with this bear and loved him until his little plastic pellets were coming out and he had to be sewn up. Blackie even went to Paris with Mom when she was away for 10 days, the first time she had ever left with me with Dad and Bub.

But let's get back to how crazy people were for these things. There was this kid, Josh Driver, whose Mom would sell beanie babies out of the back of her car. Look, I can't make this up. It was like the Beanie Baby Black Market in the back of Dogwood Elementary.

 There were even waiting lists.  I can remember being on waiting lists at the Village Toymaker that were miles long. It was like winning the lottery if you got up there to get on the list and were on the first page.

There is no telling how much money wasted on these things. They sold for about $6 a pop and I literally had dozens if not hundreds. Where are they now? Who knows, so sorry Mom and Dad, sorry I spent your money on these things, I am sure I will get my payback some day with Caleb.

Pondering Pogs

Ok, so let's get back to these crazy toys of the 90s. Do pogs mean anything to you? If not, I am not sure if I can decide if you even missed out on anything.

Pointless toy number two: Pogs!

 I will never forget my neighbors, Jessica and Zach, coming back from California with these things called pogs and sitting on their living room floor playing with them. It was the most pointless game ever, yet the whole neighborhood gang was entranced. You would stack up your pogs and take the slammer and hit the stack as hard as you could. I don't remember exactly the specifics, but somehow depending on how they fell you got to keep certain ones, even your friends' pogs! The build up to seeing who was going to win and get the pogs was a little too intense for my juvenile anxious self. This game alone probably took a good 4 years off my life.

You had better believe I was a selfish pog player. Fully aware that my favorite pogs could be stolen with one hit of the slammer, I would stash my favorite pogs, including my favorite stolen pogs from won games and make sure they weren't played. Hey, I was like 7, so sue me why don't you?

As to why I was so territorial over colorful pieces of cardboard, we may never know. It may be one of those things I need to seek out therapy for to find some deep hidden cardboard attachment disorder. Come to think of it I have absolutely no idea why these things ever caught on, but nonetheless they did and they are pointless toy number two on my journey through childhood toy memories.

Just a little happy

Just a little happy to start your morning. I thought it was just too cute. It's like they're talking to each other. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeK2y4MBpYE

Tales of the Tamaguchi

So, I am definitely going to have to make my second working on me on procrastination because I am yet again breaking from that series to talk about the past. Consider this my series within a series. I guess since the original one is all about things I need to work on, this can go hand in hand. It's all stuff from my past that shaped me and thus led me to where I am and what I need to work on. No? Stretching it too much? Oh well, I tried.

Anyway, after yesterday's post I was talking to Kate and I told her I was thinking about writing on the crazy toys of my generation. Then I went to class and talked with some of my classmates and laughed so hard we cried. It was at that point I decided many of these toys merited their own blogs.

Pointless toy numero uno: The ever beloved Tamaguchi or Nano Pets.

Let's just take a stroll down memory lane.

The year was 1997 and Bub had just graduated from CBHS. We were in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, at the Gros Ventre River Ranch for an relaxing week with the family. I, of course, brought along my Nano dog, Riley. I mean come on, I couldn't leave him at home, who would give my sweet pup water and belly rubs when he needed them?

So one afternoon, I am just minding my business when my cousin Matt is spotted with Riley in hand. Riley who was going on a good 70 days of life was being fed and fed and fed. Overfeeding of the Nanos was a no-no. It was merely minutes later that I watched my Riley sprout wings and digitally fly away to Nano pet heaven. Matt had done it, he had killed my beloved. How was a girl to go on with this vacation? How was I to enjoy my last few days when I was mourning the death of my loved one?

Riley and I had become one. He even came equipped with a hook so he could attach to my backpack or belt loops, whichever I preferred for the day. And now with about five minutes of overfeeding all of our good times and memories were stolen out from under us.

Ok, so maybe this wasn't as stupid of a toy as I thought when I originally was looking back. Obviously the creators of the Tamaguchi/Nano Pets were marketing geniuses. They had even found a way to give parents a break from the constant begging for a pet. I am sure something like this will come about again for our children's generation. It will probably make ours look like the computers of the earlier generations with the black screens that only displayed green text, images, etc.

Yup, the Nano pet, that is a toy that will forever be a part of my cherished childhood memories. Love it or hate it, I don't care, just let me have my memories and I'm good.

Days gone by

So, I'm already taking a break from my "series" and breaking trend to write about this. I guess maybe my second working on me series should be procrastination, no seriously-- I'll get on that later.

Anyway, today I was waiting on a professor for a meeting he never showed for and while waiting I was on my phone looking at pictures on facebook and came across a photo.

Here is said photo:

Okay so let me explain. Kate and I were being lame, per usual, and preparing for my wedding. So we were walking done the aisle, hence the fake flowers and tear wiping She was my dad, obviously.  While the memories brought back some laughs, I couldn't help but notice that we both had the large belts that were so the style during our sophomore year. (2005-2006). What was the point of these belts, there was none-- they didn't hold clothes up, and in fact they didn't even go in belt loops there were just obnoxiously large and sat on your hips. When I saw this I couldn't help but think back to other fads and trends gone by and it got me thinking.

Not to dredge up painful memories but let's just think of some of the trends my generation has fallen captive to.

Fad number 1: Those dang necklaces that were intended to look like a Celtic knot tattoo. First of all, who would have ever wanted a tattoo that encircled your entire neck and secondly, what possessed us to think these were so good looking?  They were typically black or brown, or some other ink like color and they stretched so  you could get them over your head and onto your neck, but then they reshaped to fit tightly around your neck, thus completing the tattoo facade. This picture is the closest thing I could find to what they were like. Attractive, right? 

Fad number 2: Wearing our hair in knots. Okay, of this I am not completely guilty. I can remember doing it but only to sleep in with amounts of hairspray that would rival Snookie's poof spray because the next morning it would leave beautiful curls. But let's just take a look at this, shall we?  What about this look is even remotely attractive? Granted some girls wouldn't wear them all over their head like this picture, so I must give credit where credit is due. No, they would just wear a "knot crown", if you will, and wear a row of about five or so at the top of their head and then wear their hair down or in a pony tail, or whatever they chose, because clearly that made the look so much more glamorous.

Ok, sorry, I lied, nothing could rescue this look... Children of the 90's what were we thinking?

Fad number 3:

Sambas..... oh, Sambas. Don't tell me you don't remember this fad. It struck for me in about 4th or 5th grade.  Now, for those of you who don't know, Sambas are indoor soccer shoes. Did I play indoor soccer? Psh, yeah right. Did half of the kids who wore them play? Nope. I would even go so far as to say upwards of 95% of kids didn't even play any sort of soccer, but they still wore these stylish shoes. And we didn't just wear them with play clothes, nope, I threw these puppies on with everything, even dresses if Mom could get me in one. (This was definitely in the prime of my tomboy, anti-anything and everything girly stage.)

Well, this was a good laugh and a good break from studying, but unfortunately, if I keep thinking of past trends, I'll end up writing for hours. But honestly, take a second and think back. What trend are you most worried about explaining to your children? Come to think of it maybe I should just go ahead and get rid of some of those incriminating photos and spare myself the embarrassment and Caleb the satisfaction.

Working on Me #1

I have been thinking about starting to write blogs in a series. I think the first one I am going to do is going to be about things about myself I want to change. I feel getting this stuff out on the Internet will serve as a permanent reminder for me and keep me pushing toward these changes.

I know that this could take us into years worth of blogs, so don't worry I'll limit myself to 3-5 per topic. So, let's give this a go and see where we end, shall we?

Today Brother George, our pastor, was out of town because his daughter got married last night so our music director led our service. He spoke about God's will and how figuring it out isn't about what we should do, rather it is about who we should be.

He joked about praying that prayer we all have prayed, "God what is your will? What do you want me to do?", and having a loud trumpet processional followed by the answer. But like he said, the truth is it just doesn't happen that way.

I have been struggling with this a lot lately. Graduation is around the corner and that means there are a lot of decisions to be made. For instance, I currently have three internship offers on the table and I am having to make that decision. Today's sermon put me at peace (sort of).

I still can't help but think of the big picture and what God's plans are. Regardless of what I do, I know I will be moving in about a year and a half when Daniel finishes his doctorate. I have my dreams of where I'd love to end up, but what are God's plans?

I also know that I shouldn't worry, because God is bigger than any stepping stone that may come, but I am, by nature a worrier. It is just something I have always dealt with and am trying to curb-- I really don't want Caleb and future little ones to catch on to this and make it a part of who they are as well.

So, with all of that being said, now I worry where to even start figuring out how to calm the worrying. JK, it's not that bad. But how do you help relieve worry and stress?

Spring Break Mom Style

Well, this past week was my last official spring break, and while you may think I'd go out with a bang, having an 8-month-old and a husband working on his doctorate kind of throws a kink in the plan, so it was Momma/Baby road trip time.

On Friday, March 11, Caleb and I were scheduled to leave out of Montgomery on a 4:25 flight to Memphis. Well, lo and behold, the flight was delayed and long story short we ended up flying out of Atlanta on a flight that was also delayed. Anyway, we made it to Mom and Dad's by 9.



Annabelle and Caleb swinging



That weekend was spent having quality Caleb and Papa time as well as some "cousinly" bonding. We even had time for a quick lunch with part of the Nicholson gang-- our non-blood Memphis family.

Monday it was off for the road trip part of our Spring Break. Mom, Caleb and I drove 9 and a half hours to Kansas City. While many may think we are crazy to undertake such a trip with a little one, he was an angel. I think he fussed for more than 2 minutes once-- which stopped once we set up a dvd player and got the little guy watching Barney (yes, I am a terrible mother plopping my baby in front of a screen, but endless hours in a car call for desperate measures).

Our reason for going to KC was to visit family and friends. We spent the majority of our trip with my dad's youngest sister, Aunt Lori, and her three kids. (Uncle Kev was out of town). Aunt Biff was even able to come in for a day, and we were also able to meet up with the Wombles-- my babies before my baby. Other than visiting we got shopping done-- lots and lots of shopping.

Caleb, the Womble gang and me! That place is SERIOUSLY windy!

Also, on a side note, I need to tell you if food is your thing, Kansas City is your place. Never have I EVER seen so many restaurants. I told Dad that the ratio must have been 3 to 1 when you compare restaurants in KC to Memphis (or any other place I can think of), and I am seriously not over exaggerating, it was absurd and ridiculous. However, I shouldn't complain, because quantity means options and options, in this case, means Imo's Pizza. For those of you who aren't from the STL area, Imo's is our favorite pizza and it is only found in the Missouri/Illinois area.

Other trip highlights included a much-needed outlet mall excursion and Caleb's first swimming pool experience. I loved the shopping and he loved the pool. It excites me for this summer and all that my big guy will be able to enjoy!



Caleb and Annabelle enjoying
 a bedtime story with Yammy.



Mom and I decided that splitting the drive in two would be best so we drove part of the way to Springfield on Thursday and finished the trip Friday, stopping in Jonesboro to have lunch with mom's childhood best bud Janice.

When we got back to Memphis the excitement continued with a family dinner at Russo's. It wasn't just a family dinner, however, it was the unveiling of Baby Bubbette 2's gender.... and, drum roll please,.....

Daniel and I will be having another beautiful niece. I am so excited for Annabelle-- an instant best friend for life, how wonderful.

It was a great trip, but both Caleb and I were happy as can be to get back to Daniel. Sunday Caleb turned 8 months, said "Bye-Bye" on purpose with association and pulled up without any help... the little guy is growing so quickly.

The Final Chapter?

The day has finally come.

Tonight at 5, the fate of EBS will be decided by  four board members, only one of which has openly supported the school.

Community members, led by Frank Holly and Jean Mosley, will finally have their final answer. Short of selling their souls, there isn't much this avid group hasn't tried. They even reached out to the law school at the University of Alabama, only to be referred to an attorney who then referred them to Ronald Jackson of Birmingham, Ala. It wasn't until last Friday that the group learned that Jackson, who they had been working with since last fall, wasn't an attorney as they had been led to believe.

Mosley has remained hopeful despite the circumstances, saying she still believes Jackson will lead them in the right path, citing his claimed 20 years of experience with dealing in education law.

As of now, those four members are they only ones who have any idea as to what the outcome will be.

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OK, now that you kind of have the newsy short of it. Let me tell you my personal take.

I have almost lost all hope.

While sweet Ms. Mosley is still putting trust and faith in this Mr. Jackson, I am wary of what he's selling. He has a website that is novice at best. It is filled with typos and broken links. I don't mean to cast judgment, I just feel as though a man with 20 years of experience, claiming to be the executive director of an organization, would have a better website set up.

I watched a 60 Minutes on fraudulent medical treatments and the snake oil salesmen of past -- I feel as though this Jackson may be the snake oil salesman of education outreach and reform.

I don't think there is much that can be done at this point. It's like we're in the 9th inning, EBS is down by two runs, there are two outs and the pitcher is coming up to bat. Short of a miracle, I am sad to say I believe the school I have grown to love so deeply will be closing its doors.

But who knows, stranger things have happened, right?

I will keep you guys posted and let you know what happens, and if you think about it say a short prayer that either way the Camp Hill community makes the best of the decision and continues to better themselves like I know they can.

A Four Letter Word

Yup, diet.... a word many hate, some dread and others flat out refuse to mutter. It's that nasty of a word.

I am one of those who despises this word, and let me tell you how well not liking diets works post baby.... it doesn't-- especially with swimsuit season right around the corner and a bridesmaid dress to fit in.

I am so sick of feeling blah about my body, yet I have this addiction to another four letter work: food.

There we have it, there is my problem. How am I going to get rid of what I see as my problem areas if I can't bring myself to stick to one particular diet.?

Some days I feel A-OK with my reluctance to diet, per se, because I don't necessarily think diets are always the best answer. Besides, I love the gym and have no problem getting myself to the gym and oftentimes, when the weather is nice, I'll also walk around the neighborhood later in the day.

But then there are days like today. Days where if I didn't know better, I'd sweat I were pregnant again. All I want is a little bit of this, a little bit of that, maybe a taste of those and, well, OK, a smidge of these. Get the picture?

I am not sure this battle will ever be over, but I feel like if I get this out here for all of the world to see then I will hold myself more accountable. But for now, I am going to strive to not snack so much. I am not even going to mutter that d work, because let's be honest, they never pan out as planned.

So, let's raise our glass to me telling my sweet beloved snacking goodbye and welcoming in a new healthier diet.

If that doesn't work, maybe I'll just invest in a shake weight, those things are bound to deliver the results promised....

There's rivalry and then there's this....

For those of you who haven't heard, tonight the Auburn family lost a very beloved friend-- the trees at Toomer's Corner. While it may seem strange to call some trees friends, it's more what they stood for. These Oaks were 130 years old and were home to one of the oldest traditions in college sports. It was a place of fellowship and camaraderie.

One of the saddest parts of how these trees were lost was how it was done-- by an Alabama fan.

Alabama and Auburn are fierce rivals. It is argued by many that there is no other rivalry fiercer than these two in-state rivals, and, as my friend Zach pointed out, after this heinous crime I am pretty sure any who were unsure if this was the fiercest rivalry is now convinced it most certainly is.

An Alabama fan allegedly poured mass amounts of a herbicide/pesticide over the trees a week after our comeback victory in Tuscaloosa at Thanksgiving time.  He called in to The Paul Finebaum show, a nationally syndicated radio talkshow in January to report what he had done, more or less in retaliation for Auburn students rolling Toomer's after the death of Paul "Bear" Bryant, nearly 30 years ago (a story that even Finebaum assured the caller was not true-- no matter how heated a rivalry, no one celebrates a death and this holds true for Auburn fans).

After the call, Finebaum reported it to the University, and long story short, soil samples were taken, the story checked out and our beloved trees are dying. It is reported that 65 times the lethal dose was found in some of the samples and the chances of the trees pulling through are slim to none.

Now it is very hard for me to sit here and blog on this matter and not get emotional or blast Alabama. Believe me I have had thoughts cross my mind, but I am not about to lower my standards to the acts of  one classless man.

Many are saying you can't cast a stereotype over an entire group over the acts of one man. This is true, however, it is going to be made. This news is making national headlines and people outside of Alabama, and especially the South, are hearing this and thinking what the heck is up with these Southern rednecks.

I don't know what will become of this. I have a feeling the rivalry will only get more heated. I am hopeful that Auburn will keep its class, one thing that I feel most fans here always maintain, and rise above this.

As our university president, Dr. Jay Gogue, said, let us maintain our creed and stand together as a family, and not let such heinous crimes hinder our spirit.

Still, the question remains, in sport rivalries how far is too far and what can be done to dampen the fierce hatred. I am not sure anything will ever cool these fires for good, but for now I will remain a little spiteful toward Alabama and this man and the tradition they not only took from today's fans, but from future Auburn fans like sweet Caleb.

Caleb with his toilet paper ready to roll Toomer's

War Eagle!

Inch by Inch

Well, I honestly can't believe tomorrow will already be Valentine's Day. To me, it seems like this year just started, and yet I know that I am going to blink and the summer is going to be here and all that it brings with first birthdays, graduations and more.

Anyway, there still isn't too much going on in our neck of the woods. But there are a few things I guess that may be blogworthy-- things that are coming together slowly, or inch by inch-- there you have the title folks, if you watch "Family Guy" like Daniel, and thus I, do then you can reference Peter here and his love of titles being thrown into dialogue.

First of all, our little guy is so close to crawling. He is constantly putting himself up on his knees and rocking back and forth until he just decides, the heck with it, I am good army crawling everywhere or whining until some sorry sucker (me) picks him up and carries him away. So, inch by inch, and slowly, but surely, I know he will get there soon.

Secondly, my internship search, is coming to a close, fingers crossed at least. On Friday, I interviewed at the Alumni Center with the Director of Marketing and Membership. The job sounds like my dream job and is such a perfect fit with where I see my career path heading, however, it is completely public relations based. I am, as you know, a journalism major, begrudgingly, and that is where the hang up comes in. I was offered the position on the spot (the lady I interviewed with was a founding charter member of my sorority, and I may have happened to mention that I was a member when I saw all of her stuff-- hey, network where you can people).

Sure, it all sounds wonderful, but the problem is convincing my advisor that I should be allowed to do a p.r. internship instead of a journalism one. So, I am inching closer to closing the internship gate, but it's not quite there yet.

And finally, Daniel's inch by inch news is the work on his preliminary dissertation. He was originally supposed to present his prelim in March, but due to some catch ups his advisor had, he has had to postpone his presentation until April. I think he is OK with this, but we are both just eager for it to be over with and his research and work to be one step closer to getting his hood and becoming Dr. Daniel Horn.

So, in a world where so much is made of going the distance and reaching far, I am perfectly happy with our inch by inch happenings, if you will, of the week.

Mission Impossible

OK, maybe not impossible, but seeing as I haven't posted in so long and have started, yet obviously not finished, four different blog posts, I am hoping to start and finish this post. It's not that life has been much more crazier than usual, but I guess I have just been focusing my attention elsewhere.

There's not too much to report from our little corner of the world. We bought a new car to replace my poor, wrongly attacked Freida.... haha, that is my way of saying from the wreck that totaled my 4 Runner.

December also included a trip to Memphis for some pre-Christmas Christmas-ing with my family. It is so neat to watch Annabelle and Caleb interact. It definitely excites me for future children-- but no time soon people, no time soon.

New Year's Eve was rather uneventful. Katie came in town and we had a fire in the backyard and just hung out.

What really capped off the holiday season was the BCS national title game on January 10. Auburn won the BCS title. Ya'll, let's just be honest, it was thing of beauty. I even went as far as to awaken sweet Caleb so he could say he witnessed the win. With two seconds left in the game, and Wes Byrum running onto the field to make the game winning field goal, Caleb was up and confused. After the game we all journeyed to Toomer's Corner with thousands of our fellow Auburn family members to celebrate. It is something I will always remember.

The rest of January was quick and rather quiet. School resumed, Daniel had soccer tryouts for his team, oh yes, and Daniel also celebrated his 26th birthday.

I am now in full internship mode, looking here, there and everywhere for the perfect internship to cap off a great college ride. My parents may beg to differ, thinking this ride has gone astray for a few detours, but hey it's not how you get there, it's just getting there, right?

I have my first interview next Friday and I ask that if you think of it that you say a little prayer. It is with the Alumni Center. I feel it would be a good match. Another avenue I wouldn't mind venturing down is the non-profit sector, so I am keeping my options open and trusting God that He knows the right place for me to be.

Well, I guess that is enough for now. We are having terrible storms and my Internet is being rather finicky.  I cannot upload photos at the moment, but will come back in and edit this later to add some photots and bring in little color to this drab mess!