A happy alphabet

Several people have been playing the alphabet game.

I think I will try now, only because I have a perfect A. If I do not continue to B, please don't judge.

A is for ANNOYING PARENTS.

Part of my job is presenting to parents of incoming college students. Especially during this time of year on into the summer. Each preview (orientation) that the university holds, I speak to groups of parents. During a typical preview session, I will give my presentation about 5 times a day to anywhere from 80 to 2 (yes, I have presented to TWO parents before. awkward.) parents at a time. I have blogged before about some of the rediculous questions/statements that are asked. These people are crazy. helicopter parents at it's finest, my friends.

So yesterday was day 1 of a 2 day Priority Preview. This means all the smart, scholarship students come before the average joes to register for classes, book their rooms, etc... This means all of the parents think their child is the brightest and the best. I hope I am not like that when I have kids. I swear if they could go to class with these students everyday they would.
It continues all day today - my presentations begin at 2:00. With any luck I will have interesting stories to share with my readers.

In the meantime, I need to go convince these parents that, yes, their child is a super-star and I will do all in my power to let them feel as such.

ugh.

Spring has sprung

I got back in from Vegas to find that all the azaelas in our yard are in full bloom! Our street looks so sunny and bright. (Never mind the fact that the 77 degree weather on Sunday made a drastic turn to freezing temps. last night)

Our little cul-de-sac has so many pretty flowers and trees on it and I love when everything is in bloom this time of year. We live in an older neighborhood (1950's) so the trees are mature and beautiful! I had to take some pictures: We planted these 3 bushes about a year ago and are now coming in bloom. love it! They are supposed to get a lot bigger - can't wait!

Here are Sophie's Easter pictures. I wanted Trey to come help me take them, but he wouldn't. He said it was silly and that the neighbors that just moved in across the street would stare. I don't understand men.

(smelling the flowers)

When it warms up for good, Trey and I are going to go camping. There's a place close to here where you can canoe, kayak and camp. Trey thought yesterday seemed like a good day to air out the tent. Sophie loved it. He thought I looked like a fool taking Easter pictures of Sophie? He played in a tent in the backyard. Whatev.

Now I just need a little MSU baseball and crawfish to really welcome in the new season.

PICTURE TIME!

Here are a few pictures from my 2 week vacation/work trip!

COLORADO:

LAS VEGAS:

my sis, the birthday girl

Today is sweet Laura's birthday! I was so upset that I could not be there to help her celebrate.

She gave up sweets for lent, which ironically ended on her day of birth - perfect opportunity to indulge in a few goodies. And she has. I am told she was given a huge piece of birthday cake with homemade icing with a seperate bowl of extra icing just for her.

that's a party, friends.

(Laura, hating OLE MISS)

In honor of her birthday, I have compiled a simple list.

TOP TEN REASONS TO LOVE LT:

(in no particular order)

10. She has super curly hair. On certain occasions her curls are really intense. I laughed at them on those days.

9. She loves Mexican food more than anyone I know. She also loves a good frozen margarita. She giggles after her first 5 sips. Lightweight.

8. She has slight OCD tendancies. She un-makes her bed a certain way each night, placing each pillow in its perfect place on the floor. In a neat pile, not to make a mess. Growing up I would jump on them, causing choas in her nightly routine.

7. She is a 2nd grade teacher - and a fabulous one. You can not go anywhere in public in Starkville (Wal-mart, per say) without hearing "ms. T! ms. T!" The kids adore her.

6. She always remembers birthdays and anniversarys. She can tell her the birthdate of the kid who sat behind her in the 5th grade. She hasn't seen her since she was 14. It is somewhat odd. Aso, along those lines, she is a great gift-giver.

5. She is the sweet one of the 3 Tomlinson girls. It's true. We all admit it, even our parents. Kristen is bossy, I am a brat, Laura is sweet. There, I said it.

4. She is the best friend anyone could ask for. The 3 of us are so blessed that we are more than just sisters- we are best friends, but between the 3 of us, Laura has the most non-family friends. Once you are her friend, you are in for life. She never loses touch, never betrays, never judges. She has friends all over the US. If you are one of them, consider yourself lucky - you have a friend for life.

3. She hates Bob Saget. And has specific reasons why. She has a list of the top worst people - he is on it. It is a strange thing to love, but I think reflects the quirkiness that we all love about her. She can also quote movie lines like a champ.

2. She is so compassionate. She has the sweetest heart. She is so thoughtful. She always asks about my day - and truly cares about the answer.

1. She is so much fun!! I could hang out with my 2 sisters all day, everyday and neverr get bored! It doesn't matter if we are shopping, watching movies, eating (which we like to do), drinking wine, are talking on the phone - she is the best!

I LOVE YOU, LAURA!
HOPE YOU HAVE A BEAUTIFUL YEAR!

bye bye vegas

I am in the airport, yet again, blogging. No worries: I remembered to put on make-up this time.

I am sitting in the las vegas airport SO ready to be home! My flight doesn't leave for another hour. I guess if I get bored I can walk over to one of the thousands of slot machines right here in the airport.

2 weeks away from my bed is long enough. I am ready to be home. I don't think I was cut out for traveling all the time for work - living out of suitcases. I need clean clothes and my pillow please.

Vegas was good. The first part of the week was somewhat stressful with work, but once that was over on Wed. afternoon, I was able to relax a little.

I found Vegas to be extremely ironic. I don't know why. Maybe it is because people from all over come to this city with their paychecks waiting to get their hands on a part of the millions - they rarely do. One half of the people here come pretending to love cigars and expensive wines, the others come with their retirement checks and a fanny pack. I liked those people better.

I did love the shopping. And the fountains. I found there were 2 parts of vegas - the classy side and the skanky side. The classy side had stores with men in white gloves and tuxes selling items I will never own. The other half sold 99 cent vegas shot glasses and necklaces with plastic boobs on them. Obviously I found myself in Chanel, Oscar de la Renta and the like, pretending (like everyone else) that I could actually afford what this snooty people had to offer. All I bought was a precious outfit for Henry Thomas at the Gymboree outlet. Pityful, I know.

OH! It's almost 2 important holidays! March 23rd is Easter, as you know, but it is also Laura's birthday!! I hate I can't be there to celebrate! Birthday post coming soon!

HAPPY EASTER to everyone!! I am now heading to the coast where Trey and Sophie will pick me up and head over to the in-laws for the holiday!

Ok, I smell coffee and it is calling my name. Let me pull out come money and pay $8.00 for a cup. I am so over overpriced items. I can not wait to get home!!

Mississippi - here I come!

the hills are alive

*** OK - MY PICTURES ARE NOT UPLOADING IN THE AIRPORT! WILL UPLOAD LATER!***


the week of skiing has come to an end! It was absolutely beautiful. I am in the Denver airport right now waiting for my flight to Vegas. Before I go on about the Colorado trip, I must first give you all a mental:

I woke up this morning at 3:30 a.m. Trey and I, along with the Butts, drove down the mountain to Denver going an average of 18 mph. It has been snowing in Winter Park for a few days, dumping about a foot of snow, so the normally scary mountain drive to Denver was even scarier. We were on the road alone, sans a few snow plows. Back to the mental: I threw on some jeans and a sweater and pulled my hair back in a ponytail and got in the car. I had every intention of putting on my make-up in the airport. Well...like an idiot, I checked ALL my make-up and hair brush. I look a mess. My eyes are so swollen. I walked around the airport in hopes of finding a store that at least sold eye liner. No such luck. My eyes look like tiny slits. I need sleep. My hope is that I land in Vegas in plenty of time to get my luggage, get to a bathroom, and try to make myself presentable before I meet any of my co-workers for meetings.

We will see.

Now that you have a mental of a very homely, tired, alone girl sitting in the Denver airport blogging, I will now tell you a little about our trip.

We left Saturday morning and headed to Memphis to pick up the Cantrells and Andersons in the snow. Yes, we were trying to get to Colorado to see snow and thought we couldn't get out of Mississippi because of the snow. Isn't it ironic?

The trip was going great until about Arkansas where we were in stand-still traffic for about 2 hours! Everyone on the interstate was out of the car talking. Here are some pictures:

We finally arrived in Denver around 3 pm on Saturday. First we went to the airport to pick up the Fullers and then off to Winter Park to our condo. The condo was absolutely stunning!! I took pictures of every room, but will spare you that. I fell in love with the kitchen - Vicking appliances, granite, GORGEOUS!! I got some good ideas for our kitchen remodeling. Trey said to get over it. Oh well, maybe our next home. Here is a picture of the outside of our condo:

The skiing was fabulous. I have been skiing once before - when I was about 10. I think I mentioned that earlier. Well, let me just say it: I picked it up with ease. It was great. Mind you, my husband thinks he is an expert skiier, so luckily I found that Sara Fuller and I were about on the same level. We skied together most of the time. Trey gave me about a half a day each day before he left for harder runs where he could do jumps and stuff. I stuck with the greens and blues. I did bust it a few times, but that only made it funny. At one point during the trip we were pretty much all skiing together when they all had the brilliant idea of going down this one particular hard run. Sara and I, feeling confident at this point, decided to join them. Well, we get to the top of this one hill and stop dead in our tracks. I thought I was going to cry. After much thought, Sara and I decide to take off our skis and slide on our butts down the scary hill. Bad idea. I lost my poles and lost all control. They all laughed at us. We wanted to cry. Oh...they have it on video.

One night we went to this place about 10 minutes from Winter Park where you could tube down this big hill. It was absolutely hilarious and so much fun. Literally you fly down the hill. We went when it was dark and snowing - so fun! I felt like I was on A Christmas Story. Here are a few pictures.

I took over 100 pictures, so I will spare you those, but here are a few of my favs!!

The company was fun - the skiing was great - the weather was gorgeous - and the food was delish! All in all it was fabulous!!

Now I am off to sin city while the rest of the crew is driving back to Mississippi. Bless them...

I will post more later!

side note: I got to the airport at about 7:00 a.m. - people are eating McDonalds (not the breakfast, the burgers) and Quiznos subs. I don't get it. Wait for lunch, people. Oh - and there is a girl next to me in the shortest dress I have ever seen. Hope she doesn't have to go through those blower security things. I bet she didn't forget to put on make-up....

Another side note: Yesterday was my sweet Mamaw's birthday!! She lives in a home in Meridian. They threw her a party yesterday with cake and everything - my mom said she was so excited she didn't even want to talk on the phone with her! So fun. I was able to go visit before I left for Colorado because unfortunately I will miss her birthday party this weekend. I am so blessed to have such wonderful grandmothers!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAMAW!

so long, folks, I'm heading west

I am leaving tonight for a 2 week adventure. Please, try not to miss me too much.

I am heading Saturday to Colorado with 4 other couples. So fun! Haven't been skiing since I was about 10, but let me be the first to say it: i was unstoppable when I was ten. I expect nothing less this time around.

Here is a picture amanda's husband made for the trip. He views me as a princess...I have no complaints:
If you can, make the picture larger and view the captions. Funny man.

I will be in the Rocky's until Friday, the 14th, where I will part ways with my fellow ski bunnies and fly to Las Vegas. I am on the national board for this program thing we use. It's hard to explain. All that matters is they are flying me to Vegas for the week. SWEEEET! I have never been, but I can hardly wait. I don't gamble, but let me make it clear that I don't get bored either. I plan on pestering those who do gamble. Maybe I will make a friend who will win me big money. I will let you know.

Oh, did I mention we were driving to colorado? Me + Trey + Tricia + Caleb in one car for 19 hours following the cantrells and the Tahoe people. Picture national lampoon vacation. Don't worry - I packed plenty of snacks.

So that's it until I hit the road. Maybe I will blog along the way. Maybe, just maybe.

Until then - I'm heading west.

Hello, Mr. President

My mom works at Mississippi State. My nephew went to visit. The big man was out of his office.

Here are the results:

"can you push my 9:30 back to 11:00, please?"

"What do you mean you can't? I don't care if they are busy at 11!"

"I love a beautiful bulldog afternoon."

"Yes, I am the President. Yes, I know I am cute."

"Flowers for my Lita. Always have to get in good with the grandparents."