On: not really being profound....

Do you ever get all emotional, sit down to write and get it all out, and all the sudden you feel inspired?  You feel like you are making some break through.  What you are saying and feeling will not only change your life but others that read the outpouring from your heart.  The words you are typing are-dare I say-profound?! People will read your words and feel like they can overcome all the hardships in their lives because they know you too have been through them and you made it out okay....?  Have you typed with the tears flowing and the only thing that makes you feel better is the fact that some random person may stumble across your blog and read your sorrows on their computer screen and change their life for the better because of your strength through adversity...?

...And then you realize the very thing you typed was really just murmuring, whining, babble, that you really can't post any way because the person you are writing about just may read what you wrote and realize it is about them and how you had to deal with their selfishness and/or insensitivity...and you don't want to be insensitive back!  Then you realize nothing you wrote was even coherent and you can almost hear your self being all pitiful while you typed it and you roll your eyes...at yourself...and hit the backspace button over and over and over...And while you do that a scene from one of your favorite movies (You've Got Mail...in case you forgot that was one of your favorite movie) comes flashing into your mind and you start hitting backspace with both your pointer fingers and roll your eyes some more (if you don't know what scene I am talking about you should watch it again).  Has that ever happened to you?  You thought you were being profound but really you were just being dumb?

You haven't had that happen?  No, me neither.

Ketchup Day: New Hampshire...so far

No ketchup bottle this week...I know you are disappointed. :)  We are a week into our 3 week vacation to New Hampshire. It seems strange saying New Hampshire instead of Vermont but we are right on the boarder and we have already been back in forth between them both. I wanted to do a photo dump so I could try to stay on top of it a little. The cousins start arriving tonight so the camera will be working over time from here on out! Tina, Allen, Anika, Sam, Saku, and Ben are going to be staying in their new house this summer and they are thrilled. This is their first home and it is really a home away from home since they live out of the country. This will be their home base. They get to come to their home on vacation. We (Nee, Papa G., Jake, and I) left SC last Tuesday morning. We got to NH last Thursday and have been trying to get their house some what settle for them before they get here.  Here are some of the pictures I took to document our journey...

Jake giving the thumbs up from inside the U-Haul all ready to go.

Papa getting ready to put the car on to tow it.  We all took turns keeping Papa company in the U-Haul.  Nee and I switched back and forth driving the Jeep.  Poor Papa had to drive the whole way.....

Jake in his DVD tent so he could see the screen.

We had to go slow to follow the U-Haul but I am glad we weren't going as slow as the people going the other way on the highway...We say the coolest thing: a car rigged up with a funny tower thing that turned out to be a camera.  It was a Google Street View car.  Jake took a couple of pictures on his cell phone.  I will have to figure out how to put them on here some day. 

We listened to John Mayer's new CD a bunch.  New favorite song: The Age of Worry. Genius lyrics and music.  Go to iTunes and get his new album Born and Raised if you haven't already.  You will thank me for it.

A breakfast at Subway had us all cracking up.  Dad (not Jake the 10 year old boy...it was the 65 year old boy) pointed out something funny my OJ bottle said.  This was day 3 on the road and we were tired.  If you don't see what is funny than you aren't related to me and you don't enjoy being in touch with your inner child nearly enough.  Thank you Minute Maid ad agent's for a great start to my day. :) 

Being in New England means creamy time!  I am starting to notice I have no pictures of Nee and Papa...they were there the whole time I swear.

I had to take a picture of my favorite flower along the old railroad tracks to Camp.

Yes we have been doing Jake' physical therapy.  He can touch his shoulder now and he is pretty psyched about it.  You can tell from this picture can't you. :)

Lowe's came and delivered the new fridge, washer, and dryer.

One day while we were at lunch we looked out in the parking lot and there was a hail storm.  Later when we were in Walmart they announced over the load speaker that there was a tornado warning.

The hail got as big as marbles.

Last year a hurricane.  This year hail, tornado's, temps in the high 90's, and now in the low 50's (probably 40's even)!  Gotta love New England weather.  Luckily I found a sweatshirt on clearance for $5...

I found this book at a Yard Sale and got it for my Dad.  He loves Will Rogers.

Let's all take a moment of silence to remember one of the greatest Presidents this country has ever known.............I am glad I got this for myself at the same yard sale for $3.  Who sells The Reagan Diaries for $3?!  Now that my Kindle is no longer {sigh...} I at least having something to read....

Now I have to carry all this in my purse rather than just my Kindle...Actually I have finished Till We Have Faces and The Screwtape Letters, both by C.S. Lewis.  The man is a genius...more on that and the books later...

This is why I love loved {tear...} my Kindle.  On a Kindle when you find an amazing quote or something you want to remember you can highlight and make a note.  In regular books I have to have scraps of paper close by.  I am not knocking books by any means.  I am a book lover.  I just miss my beloved Kindle already....

We tried out our new flippers in 50 degree weather yesterday and today.  Nee bought Jake a fancy pair for $15 and I bought myself a cheap pair for less than half that.  They both work very well.  Unfortunately one of Jake's is lost somewhere in Groton because it wasn't tight enough...We searched to no avail.  He was bummed but I reminded him about my recent lose and played him "The Age of Worry".  That helped, plus I let him wear mine so he is recovering nicely from the tragedy.

We decided yesterday Jake and I would spend the night at Camp.  It was pretty chilly.  This is Jake getting ready for bed on the swing, on the porch with something like 5 blankets on him.  He also had 2 long sleeve shirts and was as snug as a bug in a rug.  Love the crazy eyes in this one...

This is Jake jumping in with his flippers on before one went missing....I am chuckling just looking at it now.  He is a great swimmer and an awesome diver.  You would never know it from the awkward jump in this shot. :)

The traditional dock shot...It was starting to rain (not to mention is was cold and I promised him  I would swim...) so I had to hurry.  This attempt was not so great....

This one was pretty darn adorable. 

The count down is on!  Tina, Anika, and Ben will be here in just a couple of hours.  Nee and Papa are at the airport waiting for them as we speak.  We are so excited to Welcome you back to America and to your new home!!!

RIP old friend...

Sunday was a very sad day for me.  I lost a very dear friend of mine....

(Yes, I know my nails are painted adorably but please focus on what really matters...)

I dropped my Kindle...so many books I wanted to read while on vacation...I am heartbroken. (If you think I am kidding than you do not know me at all.)

It is official: I could never be a rock star..

Why you ask?  Because I HATE hotels.  I am a OCD, germaphob and went with out my Prozac for a day....Bad combination. Even in a clean hotel.  I pulled back the sheets and there were 3 hairs...Not to mention that my flip-flop fell off my foot and I touched the carpet with my barefoot...And after I took a shower I accidentally kicked my flip-flop across the bathroom and had to put my foot on the floor.  I could not live every night in a hotel room.

The real question is why am I in a hotel room?  Because we (Nee, Papa, Jake, and I) are going to New Hampshire to see Tina and her family!!!!!  It is Tuesday 6/19 but I am not posting this until now*. because they don't know Jake and I are coming.  It is a surprise!!!  YIPPPEEE!  Thank goodness for a wonderful husband who stays at home to work while we go on vacation so I can see my sister.  Thanks Aaron. :)

So, we are driving (correction my dad is) a U-Haul (full of furniture for my sister's new home that my parents couldn't fit into their new home), that is pulling a car behind it.  My mom and I are taking turns driving their Jeep.  It was an uneventful drive (which is a good thing) so far except when we stopped for dinner at KFC.  Jake had to go back up to the counter because they put some funky sauce on his sandwich.  We were sitting at one of those high tables and when he got back he put his hand on the tray to push himself back up....Unfortunately the tray was not on the table all the way and it shot my mash potatoes and Jake's new sandwich on to the floor, luckily not quit making into to the older gentleman at the next table..More on our ride up later...

*My mom accidentally let it slip to my sister on the phone so I am posting this today instead of next Tuesday when my sis and her family will be traveling here.  My mom was talking to Tina when we were on the road and Tina said she would let her go so she could focus on driving and Mom said "oh I am not driving dad is"...Of course Tina put two and two together because there are 2 vehicles to drive. :)  More on our trip up and what we have been up to so far soon...

These are a few of my favorite things...

I am thrilled to announce I no longer own a hair dryer. I have never been a fan of blowing drying my hair and now I don't have to! I have found the perfect combo to (hopefully) never have to use one again. Here are my secret weapons:

1.) The Turbie Twist.  Della had one on day and I told her I had always wanted to try one.  Guess what my sweet Della got me for my birthday?  Not 1 but 2 of them (one in lavender and the other in turquoise.  Does she know me or what?!)-she found them on sale by one get one free!   I love them so much!  They seriously speed up the drying process and the are great for when I am going to go curly or straight Thank you Della!!

2.)  This very cool brush that has microfiber...fingers, for lack of a better word that soak some more of the water up. 

3.) If I am going curly I stop there and let my hair air dry the rest of the way.  If I am going to straighten my hair I use the trusty Wet 2 Straight.  I have mentioned my love for it before and I still do.  I do spray my hair with some stuff that protects it from heat first and it really seems to work.

These 3 things have made me such a happy camper.  I am blow dryer free and loving it!  What are some of your favorite things?

Ketchup Post: Pictures of some of summer so far...

Here is a ketchup of a few of the things we have been doing this summer so far.  We have big plans to take in all the free fun stuff in our town but it hasn't happened yet.  There is still plenty of summer left to get to all that fun stuff.  So far we have pretty much just hung out and enjoyed the summer.  In the South you have to enjoy it while you can because come the end of July and all of August it may just be to hot to want to be outside!

After a day of digging and sweating the Martin's were ready to put up their new pool!!!  I think I was more excited than the kiddos. :)  Riannon started blowing it up while the guys looked for an easier way to get it up.

 Sadly Addie Kate had to retire her favorite sandals...You can't tell in this picture but they broke.  She was totally bummed so we decided to take pictures to remember them.

 There were a few tears (no I was not torturing her by taking a picture of her crying.  She wanted me to take the picture of the last time she got to wear them.), but luckily she got some adorable new ones for her 7th birthday with gems all over them. :)

 Jake couldn't jump on the trampoline because he still had his splint on but he helped Riannon practice her volleyball skills by tossing her the ball....

The pictures got a little out of order and I am just not in the mood to fix them....Della and her monkey toes climbed the pole.

 Riannon made the Varsity Volley ball team!  Go Rere!  I still can't believe she is going to be a freshman in HIGH SCHOOL!!!!  Where does the time go?  Della will be turning 12 and going to Young Woman's (a program for girls ages 12-18 in our church) in just a couple of weeks...Everybody needs to stop growing up already...

Della and Jake making forts in the pool with the rafts....

A random picture of everyone swimming at the pool. Ranee's friend was out of town and let us have fun at her pool. Can you say jealous? I would never leave my house if I had a pool...

 Sprayed by fire hoses at Cub Scout Camp. 

 The K-9 unit came to camp tooand it was so cool.  (and that is pretty much it for pic's at camp...I was too busy to take pictures.)  I have decided our next dog will have to be a blood hound and we will name her Eleanor Rigby.  Their drug sniffing dog was a blood hound and she was PRECIOUS!!

 Swimming in the Martin's pool.  We have done this a ton and this was the only time I have taken a picture...We like to to swim and then go lay on the trampoline to dry off and tan. :)

 These are the only pictures I took of Father's Day...Giving the Papa's their gifts: awesome books we found at Sam's Club that I will be borrowing to read. (I am a sucker for Sam's club book aisle...I love cheap books...I found a couple cheap and great books for homeschooling too-score!)

 Daddy was even more lucky to get....A KINDLE FIRE!!!! (By the way it is your b-day gift too Aaron).  He was pretty excited and so was Jake because he inherits Aaron's original Kindle. It is a win-win.  Yes they are both spoiled but Aaron deserves something special for all the sacrifices he has made for our family the past couple of years and Jake is homeschooled so a Kindle just makes sense!

Sadly enough that pretty much catches up on all the pictures I have taken over the past month.  I need to start taking some more or my poor camera will start feeling neglected! :)

So, I got a fortune cookie today...

...and this is what it said:

That's not really a fortune but the hibachi grilled beef, onion, zucchini, peppers, sprouts, rice, and noodles were delicious. :)

Ketchup Day: Things we celebrated in the month of May...

...in lots of pictures and a little words....

Tuesday is my ketchup day...Get ketchup instead of catch up?...I know I am a dork.

By the way I didn't edit this post...Just a warning if it doesn't make any sense to you...

 1,)  Mother's Day.  I got a pretty corsage but since we didn't take any pictures that day I only have a picture of it a couple of days later looking a little withered....(Nee and Nana got them too...again no pictures...)


 Jake made a card and gave me $2.  He really loves having money so I felt pretty special. :)

2.)  My Dad's birthday is May 14th and we were there to celebrate (Aaron wasn't because it was during the week and he was commuting home on the weekends) and I remembered to take a few pictures.

We got him 21 hours of cowboy movies and TV shows.

3.)  My 36th birthday!  4.)  We went to the doctors and found out Jake was ready to go with out the splint and that his elbow was healed.  The day before we found out Aaron got the job he was hoping for down here in SC so before I even opened any gifts I got the best gifts of all!

Plus we went to Olive Garden for lunch with Nee.

And Bronco's for dinner with Aaron when he came home a day early to celebrate my birthday and getting the job! (Plus he had to do a drug test and fill out paper work the next day but really it was more for me!)

We also celebrated Nee and Papa G getting settled in their new home.  Nee invited Jake, Della, and Addie Kate over for a sleep over and they made a surprise for us that turned out to be a wonderful 7 course finger food meal at their restaurant "Star Dust Garden".  The girls were fairies and Jake was a sparrow man and we all had a lot of fun.