week in review

Happy Friday!

thank goodness this week is over. Not that it has been a bad week, just so busy. Tuesday I went to the Beau Rivage on the coast for work. I know, tough gig. Someone's gotta do it. i did not gamble, however. I get mad if I lose a dollar. A penny saved is a penny earned, right mama? But the hotel and casino was decorated for Christmas and was so beautiful. It really got me in the Christmas spirit. (save the life size carolers in the hotel lobby, they really freaked me out.)


The Christmas feeling continues - Wendnesday night the University had a campus-wide Christmas tree lighting ceremony, complete with caroling, hot chocolate, and Santa. Locals brought their children dressed in their holiday best. Not to be out done, Sophie joined in for the festivities. She wore a santa hat and fur shawl. She was the cutest. I love my dog. Some dogs will get angry at you for dressing them up and flaunting them around campus. Not Sophie. She is a dog after my own heart. Bring on the costumes and attention. She even let Santa hold her for a quick photo opt. Unfortunately, my camera battery was dead. I was just sick about it. No fear, though. The mall here allows you to bring your pet to take a picture with santa on Tuesdays. We will get out picture. In the meantime, Trey's boss made fun of him for holding such a prissy dog dressed in white fur and a santa's hat. He referred to Sophie as "Bedroom slipper dog". what does this mean? How rude.

Last night I went with two of my friends, Olivia and Crystal, to a "Ladies Night Out". A bar, you ask? No. A sporting/hunting store. What a riot. we were greeted with a glass of wine and plate of cheese. It was a promotion to get ladies in there to buy for the men in their lives. It was great - free massages, HUGE savings, door prizes (I won NOTHING, by the way. Chrystal won a free make-over. Jealousy.), and food. I didn't buy anything, but it was a good excuse to get away from men and have a free drink.

Our tree is up and looking pretty dinky. I bought some pretty ribbon yesterday to make a hug bow to put on top. Unfortunately my bow didn't turn out so well. So I brought the ribbon to work and bribed the lady next door to make me one. It is gorgeous. She made it so it has a lot of extra ribbon to hang down over the tree. It will really add a little to our sweet, humble tree. Hanging it tonight. Pictures to come.



I went to our storage room in our garage a few days ago to retrieve the wreath for the front door. I bought it last year. It is the berry wreath. Anyway, apparently sometime during the year something ate the berries. Moths? Mice? I don't know. I rather not think about it. the point is the wreath looks like poo. Half the berries are gone and the ones that surived show the white under the red coating of the berries. I demanded a new wreath. Do you know what my husband's response was?



"what's wrong with it? Looks like it has snow on it."



Stupid. I will be making a wreath this weekend. My first attempt at making my own, but I have seen some that are precious and I am convinced that I can create my own. Just call me Martha.

Pictures of the "snowy" wreath soon.

That is all for now.

Heather, Obsessive Aunt Extraordinaire.

I know, readers, I know. I am an obsessive aunt. You don't have to tell me. I am fully aware that I talk, think, write, and sing 99% of the time about my nephew.

Well, get over it.

I have something else to share.

Please click on this link: http://reneereedy.com/#

Just do it. You will not regret it. Once you get there, click on "blog". Obviously, you will see what I am refering to. It's the slideshow.

When he was born (a year ago this Saturday!!!) I was so unprepared for the cuteness that he would posses. I have watched the said slideshow a number of times thus far, each time bringing one more tear to my eye.

Dramatic? Yes.

My boss has asked me on several occasions what I will do when I actually have one of my own. Answer: I do not know. I love this little boy with my whole (literally, the whole thing) heart.

Thanks for listening.

PS - This is my 201st post. That is a lot of posting, my friends. Perhaps I shall list 200 things you never wanted to know about me to honor this momentous occasion. stay tuned.

Thanksgiving is my favorite ( i mean, minus Christmas)

Kristen, Laura and me

We had the best thanksgiving. And, yes, I am obsessed with these shutterfly collages. Easiest way to share mulitple photos.

On Thursday we went to Collinsville to my aunt and uncle's house. We had a great time...and lots of food. It was so good to see everyone...can't wait for Christmas!

One item of note: I can now dance to "soilder boy". I don't know what it is/means, but my 14 and 15 year old cousins taught me the latest moves. If ever I am invited to a high school party, I will, undoubtly, perform my routine. On Friday after the victory (see previous post), my dad's side of the family got together at my parents house for yet another Thanksgiving feast. My mom is so cute. She had name cards for us at our table. It was so much fun. I love my family. Some people I know couldn't stay at their parent's house for 4 nights straight, but I can! I could have stayed another week! They are fabulous. I am thankful for my family!
One last thing to note: WE HAVE A WALKER! Henry is not yet confident enough to let go of his push toy or your hand, but it is only a matter of time before he takes off. He is so fast! He also discovered the stairs at my parents house. He loved crawling all the way up to the top. He was so proud of himself, too. He laughed the whole time. I already miss this little man.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well!

Victory is sweet

"Did you hear they fired Coach O? That's hilarious!!"

The egg is ours. That is really all that matters. We played like poo-poo, but in the end came out on top. It really was a sweet, sweet ending to a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Ole Miss: 0-8 in the SEC. Could it get any better? I doubt it.

I am so proud.

It was so wonderful to see some of my sweet friends at the game. Too short of a visit, but I will take anything I can get! I love my friends!

Henry is in the Christmas spirit!!

Check out sweet Henry's moves! he is really ready for Christmas!!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9559663696

Note to readership: Citizen Kane = Citizen Bore

Last night after church we invited our precious friends Toby and his girlfriend, Kate, over to our house for dinner and a movie. Fun, right? WRONG. I mean, the company was great and the food was delish but the movie caused me to go into some sort of living vegetative coma. Literally: bored to death.

Trey has a new thing: renting classic movies from the university library. (again, no cable) This is a wonderful find due to the fact that it is free and through this gold mine I have been able to watch movies like "To Kill A Mockingbird" (fabulous. the book is better) "Sound of Music" (all-time favorite) and "Forrest Gump" (is that considered a classic?) So the past few times Trey has been to the library to pick out the movie, I have been pleasantly surprised at his choice. He has proven himself trustworthy at picking out the free movie.

Until last night.

While Kate and I gathered the food for the evening, Trey ventured to the library in search for the free movie du jour. He came back with "Citizen Kane".

Please, readers, do not judge me just yet for slamming the so-called greatest movie of all time. (and according The American Film Institute, it is just that: #1.) Well, this institute did not ask my opinion. I knew nothing about the plot of the movie. I went into the movie completely open and with unbiased opinions. To be honest, I thought it was a horror movie. There, I said it. I am not ashamed.

So the night progressed (at a painfully slow rate) and Citizen Kane was well underway. It was then, and only then, that I realized that this movie is in fact NOT a horror movie, much to my dismay. Have you seen this 'great' movie? If not, please, allow me the opportunty to give you a quick synopsis of the film: The entire movie is about this newspaper rich man that dies and his last word is "rosebud", or something equally as lame. The reporters are trying to find out what rosebud means in order to make a great story, so for the length of the film they are trying to solve the mystery of the rosebud. Is it a lady? A lost love? Nah, readers. Rosebud was his sled, for crying out loud. HIS SLED. Yes, the snow toy. The whole movie is about a sled.

Perhaps I am so ignorant of the greater things in life that I could not appreciate such a maginficent film, but for what it is worth, those AFI people had it all wrong. My vote: Shrek 2.

happy anniversary to me!

It's me, Sophie.

I usually don't par-take in such events like blogging. The reason really boils down to the fact that I am too busy either a) sleeping b) eating or c) chewing up mommy's shoes, but today is different.



I know my mom reported my 1st birthday last month. I appreciate all the birthday shout-outs and presents that I got. I wanted a big party, but all I got was scoobie-snacks. Cheap parents.


Anyway, I am distracted. While I am already 1 year old, today I have officially been a Skaggs for 1 year. Yes, folks, that's right. A year ago today my mommy and daddy's lives were brightened and forever changed. They got pretty lucky when they picked me up from that lady's house a year ago. I don't mean to brag, but I am pretty darn cute. Have you seen my latest photos? C-U-T-E.


But I got pretty lucky too. A few things I like most about being a Skaggs:


1) My mommy and daddy are fun
2) My mommy buys me clothes
3) I get good treats
4) My daddy rubs my tummy better than anyone I know
5) I got cool grandparents - SHOUT OUT TO PEGGLES & RON-RON and T-MAC & MAMA-LITA!
6) I got some cool cousins - Max, Charmin and Lilly. There is another cousin, Henry, but I am not so sure about him. He put my tail in his mouth and the people STILL want to hold him over me. I don't get it. I also got some cool siblings on my daddy's side: Sunny, Lucy, Bella, and Robin. They let me play in the backyard with them.
7) I get to sleep in the big bed with my mommy and daddy.
8) I get all my mommy and daddy's attention
9) I have a big back yard to play in
10) I never get in trouble

HAPPY 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO

SOPHIE SKAGGS!!!

Love, Sophie

it's a small, small world

I just have to share my joy!

I have a dear friend that I met while working in Maine two summers ago - Kay. She is orginally from England but is now working in Bejing, China.

I have another dear friend - Jordan. My best friend for years (literally- since the 5th grade). She works in Memphis, but travels a lot for her job. She has been in Bejing for 3 weeks and guess what??? I just heard from Kay and she met Jordan! They are having dinner tomorrow night in China!

How cool. I love that my friends from two different parts of my life are meeting up across the world!

i like ta'thank coa' croooom

Laura: the title of this post is just for you.

I was excited about coming to work today for one reason and one reason only: BRAGGING RIGHTS, BABY!! Oh how I love being a bulldog, especially when my student worker is an Alabama fan.
I am always proud to be a bulldog, mind you, but the past has proven this love to be a hard one. "through thick and thin, good times and bad", I would say. The last few years there has been more thick than thin and more bad than good, but I stayed by my bulldogs and remained a loyal fan. This year, however, the bulldogs are a little bit easier to love. I am just so proud. It is time we earn some respect! A 6-4 winning record: not too shabby! We still have to play Arkansas and Ole Miss, but let's all be honest: Ole Miss? Pa-lease. I can't wait for that game.

Anyway, so excited about last weekend's win over Alabama! We are bowl-bound!

MISSISSIPPI STATE FANS: Go online and vote for Coach Croom as Liberty Bowl's Coach of the Year. He deserves this more than anyone! He took a not-so-great team, taught them character and leadership on and off the field, and has produced a winning season for the Bulldogs. GO COACH CROOM!

my nephew - the snail and my St. Louis tales

Before I post about my St. Louis trip, as I am sure you are all on pins and needles to hear about, I must first display this collage of Henry in his Halloween costume.

I am sorry, readers, for being an obsessive aunt. I can not help it. I love him. And he was a snail, for crying out loud. I mean, how adorable.

Now on to less interesting, less cute matters: my trip. I went for a marketing conference. It was great. I could tell you all that I learned, about the great networking that took place, and the skills that were polished, but what kind of good reading material would that be? I shall tell you other things that happened along the way.

Day 1: I flew to St. Louis with a colleague who was attending an I-tech conference at the same hotel the same week. Perfect. However, her conference started on saturday and mine did not start until Sunday night. No problem. I am easy to please and even easier to entertain. Plus, I will be alone in a new city: there will be plenty to explore. So off I went by my lonesome to buy a metro ticket so my exploration can begin. I jumped on my train with my ticket, map, and purse in tow, feeling quiet 'city-ish". I waited to find the safest looking stop before I exited the train. Following my trusty map, I made my way to the history museum. Not really one for history, but I was really getting into the museum. then I went for a walk in the park, ate lunch at this darling place, and watched small children play on the playground. (in a non-stalkerish way, of course) then I made my way back to the metro stop...there was more for me to explore. Next stop: the arch. Afterall,what would a trip to St. Louis be without seeing the arch? It was beautiful and the trees were GORGEOUS, but unfortunatley I was there too late to ride the tram up to the top, much to my dissapointment. Oh well. I still took cool pictures from below. Then it was off to the conference to learn. Just call me "Mrs. Independent"
Day 2: Conferencing and stuff. I did eat a mighty-fine bagel that morning, but other than that, nothing of note. I will add here that our hotel was at Union Station. It was fun.

Day 3: Conference stuff during the day, eating food at night. More than just food, though...FREE food. There was a company there that we do business with, so the representative came and took us out to eat at this very nice restaurant: Mike Shannon's. The owner, Mike Shannon, is a retired St. Louis Card. baseball player. Anyway, the company does this every year. I can only imagine the amount of money they spend. there were bottles of wine on the menu that cost more than I make each month (ok, not literally, but there was one for over $300. I drink Yellow Tail for $7.99) I ate my grilled salmon with honey glaze like I had never eaten before. It was devine. As I made my way to the restroom (after the main course, but before dessert) I spotted him: Mike Shannon. Now I would not have spotted him in a crowd normally, but I saw a picture of him moments before so I knew it was him. I am not shy. Never have been. correct, mom? So I marched up to him to let him know that my meal was delicous, the restaurant was fabulous and that my father would love this place (baseball pictures on the wall, but not cheesy...classy) At that point he hugged me. I knew I was in. He and his wife gave us a personal tour of the place, including his private wine collection in the basement...beautiful. I then felt it neccesary to tell him that my Dada was drafted to play for St. Louis before the war...and that he struck out Joe Dimagio. At this point, he takes my hand and leads me into a small room with rare pics of Mr. Joe himself, all autographed. Then he took my picture. I loved it.

Day 4: Nada.

Day 5: Home again.

The end!

Happy Fall, Y'all!

I am back from St. Louis, but this post has nothing to do with the trip. Kristen emailed me these pictures of Henry while I was out. I must share. I mean,
A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E.
I want to squeeze him.