What is love? Baby don't hurt me, don't hurt me...no more.

I wrote this about 2 or 3 yrs ago however feel the sentiment still rings true.

In fairy tales, we read of poor unfortunate women beginning whisked
away by Prince Charming to a life of love, pleasure and ease. In
movies we see men overcoming all odds to find the woman they are meant
to be with and loving them at first sight or first spoken word. This
is not romance nor love to me.

People joke because I don't accept gifts from guys – they tell me "hey
it's just a shirt why not take it?" or even better "but how cool
would it be to have a new tv?" I live a life full of theories. I
believe a gift has to be proportional to the amount of time spent with
the person (1 month does not constitute a new TV) and how much the
person cares for you. If those to factors aren't right, something is
wrong. Yes, I love receiving gifts but not because of the gift but
because of the emotion and thought put into it.

Moving on – Romance and love are not instant. It can not be
manufactured nor manipulated. It takes time. Patience. Knowledge.
To me, romance comes from love that is brewed over time. Yes, there
are romantic moments from the beginning of all relationships. But in
the end what I am looking for is someone who knows me…inside out – my
little quirks. What do I do when I am thinking? Or when I am
nervous? What are my goals…do you plan on helping me achieve them as
I plan on helping you? Can you tell when I am uncomfortable and try
to get me out of those situations? Are you willing to put yourself on
the back burner when needs be because heaven knows I will.

Romance isn't about big grand gestures – it's the little, tedious, day
in and day out activities that show love. Anyone can buy clothes,
flowers, electronics, jewelry – but it takes someone who loves with a
true love that is willing accept my flaws – someone who knows that I
love food from road side vendors and is willing to take the risk to
enjoy it with me – someone who when I am sick is there still doing all
of his responsibilities but also taking on some of mine – someone who
loves my smile and is willing to do anything to see it. And that, my
friends, is your challenge – make me smile and I am yours.

Meandering Musings

With a lifetime of lessons bearing upon my shoulders, I woke up this morning with an intense desire to write. As many may know, I write on a regular basis, but rarely ever share those intimate thoughts. Why not start? Or should I say start again? Back to the lessons - this past year has been interesting, as my life has taken a course of its own and though I am in control, I found it intensely satisfying to let go of the reins and see where I was led. In doing such, I have learned much. Some of those lessons I will freely share however there are some poignant thoughts that will remain solely mine.
Be patient as I ramble through thoughts and hope it finds some sort of direction and meaning.
About a month ago I had the pleasure of going to dinner with a friend, we spoke of writing and he mentioned a few lines he had jotted down recently. One stuck out to me and left me with such an impression that I pondered it and really took in the imagery it left me with. I hope he forgives me for making reference to it however without the quote you will not understand the lessons I gleaned from it.
"Time exacts no returns, and opportunity remains a premium of the ticking clock" A. Wood
As he uttered those words to me I automatically was struck with awe as all I could envision was an old Grandfather clock, the pendulum swinging to mark the seconds and the gong to mark the hour. For the week after, my thoughts enclosed upon that clock and how it represented my life. The pendulum being the day in and day out tedium of our lives, what there is to be done with no question - we move back and forth to accomplish the needs of our day. What struck me most though was the gong - I picture that gong to either be the death toll of another day in my life wasted to meaningless actions and motions of nothingness or that of a celebrating chorus reminding me to come out and appreciate that I took full advantage of all the opportunities presented to me within any given time. Fortunately, my life has held both actions and for that I know there are still much more I must learn.
I look forward to this upcoming year to do such.

My, oh my, how the time does fly!

Should I apologize or just start writing?

How about an apology with an explanation - First off, I've been busy. Second - my home was broken into and my camera was stolen. Didn't know if ya'll would enjoy the blogs nearly as much without my goodlooking mug posted all over them! OK, I know you really want to see the babies, and for that I can't blame you but that intermixed with being busy is why I have not written in a while.

GOOD NEWS! I bought a new camera a little over a week ago. I am still in the process of learning how to operate the beast but will in time figure it out and get ya'll updated on our family!

So check back over the next week or so to see what's been happening in our world.

SPEED STREET!

Ahh...Speed Street. One of the things I love most about Charlotte. Really how can one not? Only one of the biggest gatherings of country folk and rednecks...woohoo. (And yes I am being serious)
This year, Speed Street was kicked off with a concert by Sara Evans on Thursday Night.
I went out with Michelle and Lisa and we caught up with Ben, Anna, Sheldon, and Clay.
Here's Michelle and I looking like the hot ladies we are or at least I pretend to be!


Just Cheesin'


Michelle cheesin (if I am not mistaken (with the name) Michelle is actually wearing some blue Chuck T's)


This here is Ben - is he looking a bit Top Gunish?


Part of the Group - Ben, Anna, Lisa, Michelle, and I


Rest of the Group - Lisa, Sheldon, Clay, Michelle and I


We finished out the evening at the Starbucks (well one of them) in uptown. We actually met some awesome guys playing Chess and had great fun chatting with them!

How many catch up's can a girl do?

One day I will have life down to an art and will master the virtue of time management perfect...yeah right! With that being said here is yet another "catch up"! At least this one is just about my family and time spent down in GA!
As the majority of ya'll know - I have spent quite some time down in GA with the family. What do we do in GA? Well we go to Ikea, hit the Barbie (grill out), spend some time on the Hooch, Karaoke, Go Carts, well, the list goes on but we do have fun.

Yes, even Amber gets in on the Karaoke Action - I do believe she was the star of the show that night!
Easter 2007 - we had fun, of course - here are some pictures of our infamous Silly String battles - sure to happen every year.

This is Nanner - slightly covered in silly string with Cassie (Cyrus's girlfriend in the background)
Noone was safe - not even Danny (mom's boyfriend)
Is it just or does the silly string match Amber's dress? (I made that one!)

And of course, we have Tubs cheesin it with the can in his hand - probably ready to shoot me.

I have even braved Deedee's driving...crazy I know!


Our last trip to GA!
We went to Sharkies - sang some more Karaoke. As well as other fun things such as...
poking out our tongues (is that fun...who knows? It was to me.)
And clearly it's contagious!!!


And don't let the cute smile fool you, I had to bribe him with a trip to the park!


Mmmmhhh, perhaps a cute lady...in pink???


The Osmonds, The Partridge Family, Jackson Five - or perhaps just THE FAMILY!



On to our trip to the Chattahoochee - Cyrus decided to go for a ride though he was not properly dressed!



Lastly - Sister Barnes helped my children roast marshmallows. I don't think they were happier the whole evening than when they eating those marshmallows!

Why Can Bath Time Be So Crazy?


A few nights ago when giving the kids a bath I noticed Amber had a big white dot stuck to her forehead. Odd, I know. I ask her about it and she tells me that she saw some woman wearing a red one and she liked it. Knowing that the red dot on women has some importance, I went to the computer to learn that they are in fact called bindi, and for most signify that the lady is married. I come back and tell Amber about it. She tells me she is pretending but, of course, being Amber then proceeds to ask me when I will get married so that I can wear one as well. I won't bore ya'll with the conversation that followed.


After Amber was James' turn in the tub and to put me in my place. Why do they always do that? Well he found a little "shaving kit" and went to town shaving his face. Yet again, I am reminded that he is growing up and that he will in fact become a man. Something that I know nothing about! What am I doing? Heaven knows, I'm gonna be needing some help!

Cookin with Tubs

Just wanted to share the fun times.

This past friday, Tubs and I hit the mean streets of our kitchen to make yummilicious brownies and cookies for a bake sale at Ambers school. Though the food did not turn out the greatest - I still thought you would getting a glimpse of tubs cooking away!
Here's the crazy fella' modeling his new Lightening McQueen apron and his bulging biceps!
Tubs with the KitchenAid - ok so I do realize that no explanation is really needed for the pics but I will still entertain myself by giving them!
Now, we see him delicately holding the egg before it is cracked!
And the best part of all - licking up the leftover batter! Looks like he had fun!