friends, friends, everywhere!

I LOVE FRIENDS!

I will admit, moving to a different place with no friends right out of college was tough for me. Even being married, I went from living in the KD house at State for 2 years - SHOUT OUT TO PATSY! - to living...well...with a boy. I love being married, of course, but come on, ladies- sometimes you just need a little girl time. right?

I have met wonderful people in Hattiesburg and have really made some great friends, but there is just something about old friends that make me SO happy! We all went separate ways after college, naturally, and sometimes it takes someone getting married to get us back all together.

Anyway, last weekend my dear friend, Kate, spent the night with me! She lives in Dallas and is so successful (and oh- so talented) interior designer. I lived with her for a summer in college in the Cotton District. She was always the fashion icon of our group. I have not seen this girl since Jordan's wedding ---IN DECEMBER!. Completely unacceptable. It was SO great seeing her and catching up.

And tomorrow night another dear, OLD friend is spending the night with me...Susanna. When I say old, I mean we have been friends since the 2nd grade! She has been my friend for the longest time. She went to Ole Miss (boo on her. Ole Piss more like it. That was ugly. I am sorry. NOT!) and even through our rebel/bully differences, we remained friends! Now she works and lives in Murpheesboro, TN. I miss her so very much. We have been through A LOT together...good and bad times. I can't wait to see her tomorrow! OH SUSANNA!

Now if only I could have a friend over EVERY weekend. Takers? Let me know!

(post script: all my pictures on my computer at work were DELETED. Horror of horrors. So here is a trusty facebook pic.)

I will now name my friends in the pic: (L-R)
Susanna, Ashley, Jordan, me, Kate, Amanda, Tricia

My husband, the party planner

It seems that the last few posts have been about my sweet husband, bless his heart. After he says or does something stupid/funny/dumb/sweet he always ends it by saying 'please don't blog that'.

Well Trey, honey, I am blogging about this!

Background story:

A friend of mine is having a baby in August. His name will be Jackson, for those nosey blog-stalkers. She is precious and I know this baby will be a doll. Anyway, she works in the same building as my beloved Trey. They are throwing a baby shower for her and all of her co-workers, including Mr. Skaggs, this afternoon. Trey is convinced that he will more than likely be the only male present. I am making him go. They signed up to bring food...do you know what my ding-bat husband signed up for?? ICE. men.....

So for some strange reason Trey was also put in charge of baby games to play at the shower. He just called (quite proud of himself, I must add) with the news that he decided which games will be played at this afternoon's baby festivites.

1) Pictionary

2) determine the size of Jennifer's belly using toilet paper (he googled that one. I don't think that game is very green...)

But pictionary sounded cute, I mean, as far as cheesy shower games go. They got big paper and markers and are going to draw baby items as the other team guesses what it is.

This is where the story really starts:

He googled "BABY STUFF" and wrote down all that came up to give to the lady in charge of the shower.

A few on his list:

-rattles
-baby bottles

-crib

-pacifier

-jaundice

-c section

-toys

HA! He wrote down JAUNDICE and C-SECTION to draw at a work baby shower! I can not stop laughing. All the women in the office laughed and said that they aren't going to use those two items in the game. He didn't know what those things were, they just came up in his google search....

Next time, people, leave the party planning to the professionals.

RE: at last

I have had a number of....ummm...concerns about the man I married and his willingness to paint lightening bolts on his forehead.

Indeed I have exaggerated this story just a weee bit. There was no face painting involved. Although I am fairly certain he wouldn't be that opposed.

Everything else in the story is completely factual, HAGRID shirt and all.

And MSKS, as far as the snooty appletini comment goes, I am not ashamed to love a girly drink when the time is right. I did not take your comment to heart, my friend. Next time you are in the burg visiting and I offer you a beverage, pull up a chair, dear, because the appletinis and cosmos will be coming out.

at last

Ladies and gentlemen: the day has arrived. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix has hit the big screen as of midnight last night.

Don't think for one minute that my husband did not try his hardest to get me to go to the movies last night. When I forcefully turned him down a number of times ("i need my sleep" - heather) he inisisted that it would be fun for us to just "drive by the theatre and look at the people waiting to go see it". FUN? REALLY? no. absolutely not. I will be just fine avoiding all things resembling grown adult men and women dressed in capes with lightening bolts painted on their foreheads.

This sounds like I do not like Harry Potter as much as the next person. That is entirely false. I love both the books and the movies, but my husband's love for this Hogwart-bound wizard exceds beyond even my love for a good appletini and new shoes. Yes, my husband loves Mr. Potter and all his tales. He re-read books 1-5 just to be 'mentally prepared' for the 5th movie.

Not me. I read them all, but am content knowing that I will follow along just fine without re-reading all 6,000+ pages of wizardry.

back to the movie: After I turned my husband down for a midnight movie in the middle of the week (he knew not to even ask if I would dress in costume) he resorted to asking his boss. Yep. You heard right. He has convinced his boss, a fellow Potter-lover, to allow the office to attend the matinee showing of Harry Potter today. REALLY???

So this morning, while getting ready for work, Trey walks out of the bedroom with a t-shirt on that says HAGRID across the back. (thanks for that, Russell) Hagrid, for all you non-potter fans out there, is a character in the book. I imediately told him that he was not allowed to wear his HAGRID t-shirt to work. It was not up for discussion, it must be removed.

He wore it as an undershirt.

So now when he, his boss, and their two grad assistants take off work for 4 hours to go "develop themselves" by watching HP #5, he is going to remove his Polo and reveal that he, too, is one of those people in potter attire.

They are also drawing lightening bolts on their foreheads.

geez.

As kermit the frog has said many times:
"It's not easy being green."

Amen, brother frog, amen.

In light of Murphwood's recent post, I decided to share my green secrets.

Readers: my husband is green.

That is so great, do not get me wrong. I for one love the trees and the air and would prefer for polar caps to remain frozen. I am willing to do my part to help 'save the earth', if you will.

Begin story here:

We are in the car market. I drive an '05 Camry. Love that car. 30 mpg in the city! Sounds great, huh? Apparently, not for mr. green skaggs. We have been test driving the hybrids. We think we are about to sign our name on the dotted line to own a Civic Hybrid. Cute little thing, and with 55 MPG I am bound to be a jet-setter.

We also recently stoped the purchasing of water bottles. We drink out of Nalgene's (or in my case a super cute red Starbucks water jug with a built in straw) with tap water only. And when possible, we buy recycled items.

However, there are certain things that I just can not give up. Washing my sheets, for one.
As my mother says, "when my day comes and I have a laundry fairy, I will have fresh sheets on my bed every night."
Preach it, sista. Nothing statisfies the soul like clean sheets with a fresh scent, lavender perhaps.

Since the dawning of The Skaggs' Green Life, Trey has mentioned that we wash our sheets too much. I'm sorry, what? Is it possible that you can be too clean? More than 4 days with the same sheets and I start to twitch. call me cumpulsive, that is fine, but this woman knows what this woman wants.

Trey, if you are out there reading, this is me standing up for clean sheets everywhere...I WILL CONTINUE TO WASH THEM ONCE A WEEK.

Thank you...

I think the newly re-discovered love for all things green came Sat. night when Trey, my friend Kate from Dallas, and I were out eating Mexican and watching the Live Earth concert where musicians and celebs alike came out of the woodworks (somewhat quite literally) to tell the world it is up to us to stop global warming. Good music.

It was all fine and dandy until Dave Matthews appeared with news that their newest child (August or December, can't remember. some month for a name) wears only cloth diapers.

If you know my husband (or me, for that matter) you might know that back in the day we shared a love for this man. I, for one, thought he was 'the one' and I would surely break up his marriage if he would just lay eyes on me at one of the many concerts I attended. It never happened; but i like my husband a lot, so I digress...

Anyway, so now he (the hubby) thinks when we bring life into this world (a greener and cleaner one, I hope) that we should only use cloth diapers on them.

I see poo-poo stains on my couch in the future.

I am sorry, but does he know what kind of mess these babies make these days? I mean, poo-poo in colors that you have never even seen!

By all means let us clothe his/her little booty and when he/she makes a poo-poo we will wash it in the sink with organic soap, air dry it and then slap it back on the innocent child. I THINK NOT.

I just don't think I can be that green.

Sherryl Crow, if you are reading this, my apologies.

I also can not use just one sqaure of toilet paper, much to your dismay.

I really am sorry.

I will never stop shaving my legs, wearing Bobbi Brown make-up, washing my sheets weekly, nor will allow myself to be less than clean by only using one square.

But, for what it is worth, I do think you are cute, Sherryl.

Update on the see-through dress:

I was able to sneak out of the office with little to no contact with the boss-man. Once outside the building, however, I did recieve an unwelcomed whistle from the groundskeeper, whom shall remain nameless. (Marcus)

Problem is solved and I can now focus all my attention towards marketing and PR.

workin' hard for the money...apparently

So I get to work this morning around 7:50. Pretty day. Sun is shining, carrying a cute purse, and Trey and I are joining a new gym this afternoon. Going to be a good day. I sit down in my desk, turn on my computer, fill my water bottle up with H20 and begin getting settled for the day.

I have mentioned before that my office is a dorm room. big for an office with big windows, closets, fridge, sink, etc...

and mirrors.

I went over to the sink and almost feel over. You can see STRAIGHT through my dress. Like not just a little. Not like "in the sunlight you can kinda see a panty line". NO. STRAIGHT THROUGH. blue panties and all.

What do I do? I already saw some people from the office downstairs. I bet they are all talking about the skank on the 2nd floor. what a shame. the dress is cute, too.

So I am scheming a plan to sneak out the back door and head home unnoticed. the trouble is I have to pass a number of offices to do so.

This is terrible. Maybe I will call Trey to go home for me and pick me out an outift and bring it back to my office.

Maybe not. That could be scary.

In the meantime, I really have to use the bathroom, but am scared to walk down the hall. There are a number of graduate assistants and student workers in the hall, not to mention my boss-man walking around.

scoot across the floor on my butt, perhaps? Would that be obvious?

this is just horrible.

( not me, but could be pratically)

bad idea

so i am sitting at my desk with 20 minutes left to go in the work week. Have projects I could start on, but what's 20 minutes, right? I mean, it's not like I would get very far anyway. I'll be better off starting fresh on Monday.

Ok, enough self-justification.

I started looking at my pictures on my computer. I don't know why. Boredom I suppose. I came across my wedding album - 6/03/07 - little more than a year ago. bad idea.

Now it is a known fact that I, Heather Skaggs, have put on more than my fair share of LB's since the saying of "I Do", but looking at these pictrues just confirmed any doubts that I may have had that the weight gain was all in my head. It is not in my head. It is in my stomach, and cheeks, and booty, and, well, you get the picture.

Now I think I will go out for ice cream and drown my sorrows in vanilla and strawberry Baskin Robbins in a cone, maybe with sprinkles on top.

parents MIA, perhaps?

Really, people. Where was mom and pops when this went down?

As I was getting ready for work this morning, I heard Meredith on the Today Show talk about an 11 year old girl who was charged with a DUI. Not only was she drunk, she was driving. Not only was she driving, but she led the police on a high speed chase. Few things wrong with this picture.

First of all, SHE IS ELEVEN.

Let's take a look at what Heather was like when she was 11.

1) Barbies. I proabably still played with barbies.
2) I thought you could get pregnant from kissing
3) I thought root beer was 'real beer'
4) I was a member of the H & H club ("Harris and Heather", MSKS' little sis. we were neighbors. we even carved 'H & H' in a tree in their backyard.)
5) My idea of fun was riding my bike in the neighborhood. When I was really feeling risky I wouldn't wear a helmet.

Now I understand that I grew up in a 'bubble', so to speak, but seriously: WHERE WERE HER PARENTS? I think they should be charged with neglect.

That is my news story for the day.

I wish I had a picture of me when I was eleven to share, but I do not.

Independence Day, chubby nephew, pedicures and bathrooms.

I will number this for easier reading:

1) Last weekend Trey and I went to Starkville to see my family. We had our family 4th cookout a little early. Henry LOVED Trey and his facial hair. He would get so tickled when trey would move in close to him. so cute. Trey and I spent both nights with my Nana. Always a good choice. She is a spoiler.

2) Trey and I took off work on Monday - Wednesday. Nan and Jeremy, our dear friends that left us for Orlando, came to visit on Monday. We have not seen them since December, so the visit was way over-due. The men played golf while Nan and I got manicures and pedicures. For some reason when Nan and I get together we laugh. ALOT. The following pictures were taken of us, by us, in the back of a car. We thought it was funny, and we thought WE were funny.

The four of us have way too much fun together. PLEASE MOVE BACK TO HATTIESBURG!

3) On Tuesday, I thought it neccesary for Trey to become Trey The Tool-man Skaggs and redo our bathroom. Off we went to Home Depot....and Lowes.....and Target. The little trip to HD turned out to be not so little as we ventured throughout Hattiesburg in search of the perfect light. When we came home with my new light fixture, cabinet, and mirror ready to go, it was time to really get busy. So Trey took out the existing light fixture (HIDEOUS) and the mirror (AWFUL) and scrubbed the walls down. I proceeded to paint the bathroom (a green...light sagey, kinda) while Trey went to play golf (again. "I hate painting. would rather dig the driveway up with a plastic spoon" - Trey) The paint was looking good. Once Trey returned he put up the light fixture and mirror and started getting busy on the cabinet. (as seen on tag: "Some assembly required.") SOME? Three hours later a very frustrated husband held up the finished product. Not bad considering we got it for a steal at Target. It was time to hang it up in the newly painted bathroom.

This is where we learned that sometimes you get what you pay for. Our wonderful steal of a cabinet BROKE!! YES. Broke. Done. Finished. Dead. The cabinet had a life span of less that 45 minutes. What a shame.

So here is where I shall throw in my consumer report:
DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT.
It was a piece of you know what.
I have a included a picture for your convience.

4) Yesterday we traveled on up to Collinsville, near Meridian, home of my mom's fam for a 4th of July lunch cookout at my aunt and uncle's home. Not the whole family was there but we still had a great time. You can't go wrong with watermelon, baked beans and corn, my friends. Yes...give me a watermelon and I am a happy camper, or in this case, cook-outer.
Hope you all had a HAPPY and safe 4th as well!!!

(post script: Sophie was scared of fire works, just an FYI. Her birthday is in October. Don't buy her sparklers. )
Me and Adelia, my cousin
My sweet cousin, Amberlee
Henry Thomas and his buddy, Trey.