Snow? In Hattiesburg?

South Mississippi is not known for snow and polar bears, so when the morning comes where you find snow on the ground, you can only imagine our excitement. It is a shame it happened on a Saturday and not a Monday - a southern town shuts down when white falls from the sky.

Here are some pictures from the snow. We were driving to Jackson during the snow, so I wasn't really able to play in it. So fun!

may I introduce...

THE NEWEST BLOGGER!

I consider this blog to be a personal victory, as I have been bothering her for quite some time now about joining this virtual world. Sweet Nan. We made killer dinner parties before she and her hubby left us for Disney World. I don't blame them, really. For their 1 year they had dinner at the resort.

-sigh-

I love this little girl. LOVE HER. and miss her (and the husband. but i miss the wife more)

Here she is, in all her bridal glory, in April of 2006. I love the picture. It is candid, of course.
Her laugh is infectous.

So, won't you join me in welcoming NAN KNIGHT!!
I WILL STALK YOU!

easy like sunday afternoon

It's just so exciting: The Mississippi Magazine's annual wedding registry is currently on my desk. I simply cannot wait to just rip through the pages. Are you familiar with such a piece of work? it is just wonderful. even if not from the hospitality state, i am sure you will be intrigued by what all it entails. i was skimming through the pages when I got to work when my boss walked in and stated that it was a waste of money. I disagree. The wedding registry is pure entertainment for me for days to come.
happy reading, readers.

Yesterday was gorgeous. After tornadic activity (is that a word?) on Friday, the weekend turned out to be just beautiful. Yesterday there was literally not a cloud in the sky. Trey's parents gave us an awesome hammock for Christmas, but we have not really been able to enjoy it to it's fullest since it has been so cold/rainy. Yesterday it was too pretty to stay inside, and while the wind was a little chilly, the sun was shining - perfect! So we took blankets and sophie and took a lazy sunday afternoon nap on the hammock. perfect. we stayed out there for about 2 hours before Sophie had enough. She was not too sure about the rope bed at first, but once she calmed down, she, too, fell asleep. I had to take pictures. Look how cozy!

advertising 101

i don't get the olive garden comercials. who is their marketing guru? i can only imagine the auditions for the said commercials:

WANTED: a cheesy, middle-class couple, slightly on the dorky side, hair combed with no flaws. button - down cardigan preferred. no acting experience neccesary.

have you seen these? my personal fav:

"we are here to celebrate" - nerdy couple

"birthday? anniversary?" - overly enthused waitress

"no! just monday! hehehehe" - nerdy couple

pa-lease. have you been to OG? first off, no one looks like that and/or are that happy about mondays and secondly, the waiters are far from chatty/giggly.

i am not even that much a fan of the food. i ususally don't even order - just eat my weight in the salad. however, and i am by no means downgrading the italian margarita they offer. they are just delish.

on a slightly different note, but possibly an effect of the mentioned commercial, i live in the fattest state. i love mississippi. love it. have no real desire to live elsewhere. but we are getting a bad rap, people. according to my cousin, oprah is visiting meridian in hopes of spreading the word to the world about our slight chunky problem. fattest state in the fattest country. does not make my heart happy. there is hope. i have faith. not only is oprah behind our rather large behinds, but people magazine has also featured our deep south state for trying to lose the weight. i believe in our wonderful state. empowerment people. that is what we need. empowerment and a gallon of sweet tea.

2008

it's the 9th day of the year. i decided after reading some blogs i would post my resolutions. that and i will disgard any punctuation and spelling rules. except the period.

i don't like resolutions - basically i am not very good at keeping them. maybe - just maybe - if i post them for all my readers (which i assume is worldwide by now) to see i will be inclined to keep them. afterall i wouldn't want to let anyone down. even the readers who stalk and i don't really know.

here they are: take them with a grain of salt. and please, under no circumstances, ask me how i am doing at keeping them.

1. run a 1/2 marathon. trey and i are actually training together for this one, so it may happen, assuming neither of us break any bones and i don't show up pregnant. (only kidding) we are running (or planning to run) the 1/2 in nashville on april 26th. if you are there, look me up, i will be wearing a pink running skirt. i will be honest: i want to run it only so i can wear the pink running skirt.

2. learn to cook. and i mean more than opening a can of green beans and baking a chicken with lemon pepper on it. i told my mom the other day i cooked roast and potatos and onions and carrots. well, mama, it was only the partial truth. it was a tyson dinner kit. but i did add a cup of water and turn on the crock pot, for what its worth. i could eat cheerios everyday for dinner but am slowly realizing my 6'5'' husband requires a little more. i shall try, trey, i shall try. don't expect too much.

3. not complain as much. i don't see it as complaining - i see it as knowing what i want. take last night. we got in bed around 10. about 10:15 i started confronting sweet trey about the 'ball-ly' sheets. don't act like you don't know what i am talking about. i know you do. when the washer and dryer puts little ball things on the sheets? anyway. no comfort. i wanted the nice ones in the closet in the guest room. and i wanted them on the bed then. right then. so i made trey wake up around 10:45 so i could change the sheets to the no-ball nice sheets. i guess i complained. a little. bless him. i will try not to do that as much.

4. no guilt. i feel guilty. a lot. about stuff i have no control over. i have gotten better at this but still hate when i feel like i can't be something or somewhere for someone or if something goes wrong. "no guilt in life, no fear in death - that is the power of christ in me" - that is a line in a song. i like it. i will try. don't make me feel guilty if i can't keep this resolution.

i think 4 is plenty for now. there are more in my mind, but why bother with that many? i should focus my attention to the 4 at hand.

i leave you with a picture from dinner party at toby's the other night:

birthday!

Today is Amy's birthday!

I met this sweet girl on my first day of work - July 2006. I had lived in Hattiesburg for a few months prior to starting this job, but still had no girlfriends. Sad, I know. I discovered it was harder to make friends for me after college than I thought! It was always me and the boys in Hattiesburg - even my first job here was with a boy (shout out to Toby!). Anyway, you get the point. I was in need of a little girl time. On my first day on the job, a sweet lady downstairs introduced me to everyone in the building. When she introduced me to Amy I was immediately excited about having someone (a girl!) my age in the building. While she is in a different department than me, our offices are right down the hall...SCORE! Immediately Amy made me feel welcomed. On my 2nd day of work, she bought me a Southern Miss cafe mug for my office since "i didn't have anything black and gold". I knew we would be friends - i love presents.

Over the past 2 years we have shared so much! I am SO thankful for her friendship. She is such a joy to see every morning when I come to work. She is getting married in June of this year and I absolutely can not wait to stand next to her when she marries Adam.

(yes, readers, this crazy woman was my first Hattiesburg friend. Lucky, I am.)

I love you, Amy! Hope you have the best one yet!!!

story of a dog and a lizard

Sophie does not like wind shield wipers. We discovered this truth during a recent rainy ride.

Please notice the crying followed by a fierce growl at the scary rubber object. It was cute for about 5 minutes; she did it for about 45.

Brave dog, she is.


Sophie hates the rain. from Heather on Vimeo.

On a slightly different note, there is a little old lady that lives two houses down from us. This little old lady is...well...different. She is precious, don't get me wrong, but you never know what is going to come out of her mouth.

Not too long ago, Trey and I were outside doing some work. I was cleaning out the garage, which faces the street. This woman, we will call her "Edith" for no apparent reason other than I sadly can not remember her name, comes running to me in a frantic, holding both hands out.

"Hey! Come here!" - Edith

thinking something is wrong, I put down the broom and rush to her.

"Are you missing a pet lizard?" - Edith, as she is shoving a small lime green lizard in my face.

blank stare - Heather

"I was outside and saw this on my tree and immediately thought it was your pet." - Edith

Does Sophie really resemble a small amphibian? Do we look like a couple who hoards lizards, frogs and snakes? I am at a lost.

"no ma'am. Not ours. We only have a malte-poo for a pet." - Heather

"oh ok. Well, I will keep it for now. If you hear of anyone missing a pet lizard, let me know" - Edith.

Well ok then.

Birthday Girl!

Today is my sweet big sister's birthday!! The oldest of three (fabulous) girls, this woman has been known for her energy, brains, and ability to get the job done. (a kind way to say she's bossy)

She is one of the smartest people I know. Kristen in a doctor in Jackson - she will be finished with her OBGYN residency in a couple of years. I don't know how she does it. If that was ALL she did, it would be one thing, but this girl is the best mama to little Henry in the world, the best wife, never turns down a party, works out, and still manages to boss me around. How does she do it? I will never know.

Being the youngest of 3 girls, I was always in awe of my two big sisters. I would do literally whatever they told me to do. They were cool afterall. I can recall allowing them to put me in a garbage can, closing the lid, then rolling me down the hill. Ingenious.

I hope you have a WONDERFUL day, Kristen! Hope you deliver lots of babies! (or not, whatever will make a happy birthday for you).

You are cute. I LOVE YOU!
I still want to be just like you and Laura ( I mean, minus the whole doctor and teacher thing. )

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KRISTEN!

1150 miles in 12 days

Hello friends. I am back from my marathon traveling Christmas vacation. feels good to be back in the burg. We left our home on December 21st not to return until yesterday, January 1. Long trip, but oh what fun.

I will break it down:

December 21-23 : Starkville. We were all in Starkville over this weekend, so we had Christmas on Saturday. Oh what fun. Entertainment provided by Henry.

December 23 AM: Collinsville. For exactly one hour we visited with my mom's family in Collinsville. We were on our way to the coast, so couldn't stay long. We were heading to Mobile that night once we got to Gulfport, so our car wasn't able to stop for long. It was great to see everyone even for that short while. I was able to see my aunt, uncle and cousin that I haven't seen in so long. It was great.

(Laura and my sweet Mamaw)

December 23 PM: Mobile, AL. Trey and I met his parents in Gulfport and headed over to Mobile to visit Bellengrath gardens. It was beautiful!! So many lights. It was freezing that night...thank goodness I had hot cider and a cute boy to keep me warm as we gazed at millions of sparkly lights. December 23-26: Gulfport. Back to the in-laws. What a cozy home to come to...big fire and lots of food. FABULOUS. Christmas day was absolutely wonderful. This was my first Christmas to not spend in Starkville and let me tell you - it was great! I am very blessed to have such wonderful in-laws.

WE LOVE CHRISTMAS!

SIDE NOTE: I will add here that Trey and I went to the movies Christmas night. PS. I LOVE YOU. well, PS TAKE A KLEENEX. Don't say I didn't warn you. I cried for 2 hours once the movie ended. And I am NOT a movie crier.

-This is the time in the marathon that Trey and I part ways for a few days-

TREY - December 26-29: Deercamp. Does something so stupid really need to be documented? I think not. Moving on...

(Not Trey...thank goodness)

HEATHER - December 26-28: Starkville....again. Back for a day of sleeping late, shopping around town, visiting friends, and spending the night with my sassy Nana. Oh what fun! I saw Ivy Kate while I was in town. She is Henry's girlfriend. I love her. (and her mama, of course)

December 28-29: Clinton. My mom and dad went to Clinton to keep Henry during Rob's (the brother-in-law, Henry's daddy) little brother's wedding. I went to Clinton to meet my husband from the deercamp so we could join forces yet again. Henry is just adorable.

December 29-January 1: Oxford. Trey and I left Clinton and headed to Oxford to visit our dear friend, Russell, who is one of the directors of Camp Lake Stephens there. We got in Oxford in time to watch the Liberty Bowl. I was in Oxford during the game - Such a bitter-sweet theory. I loved it. Go Dawgs. On the 30th, youth from all over Mississippi came to CLS for a retreat. It was great. New Year's Eve we held a dance for the youth. I was a dancing fool, I tell ya. I think I pulled something out on the floor. Trey was the DJ. He was not, under any circumstances, considered to be a cool DJ.

Case in point #1: For the last song, Trey announces over the microphone: "This is the last dance of 2007 - make it special" then proceds to play "I Believe I Can Fly" by R. Kelly. You know, the 1996 easy listening tune? Please keep in mind that most of the kids at this retreat were born in the early to mid 90's. They were NOT impressed. It was hysterical.

Proof that I was, in fact, in attendance at a high school dance: (Please ignore the bearded man, he was a counselor)
After the dance there was a fireworks show and bonfire. I hate fireworks. Call me a New Year's scrooge - I don't care. It was pretty from afar.

January 1: Hattiesburg. Home again! We took the Christmas tree down and did approx. 10 loads of laundry. I use the word "we" loosely. Truth be told: Trey does the laundry. Thanks, hun.

While Trey and I had a wonderful visit with everyone, Sophie, on the other hand, was unimpressed with our abilities to travel at great lengths. She stoped eating all together about 3 days ago. She is a child of routine, I tell you. She slept the entire trip home from Oxford to Hattiesburg and did not fully wake up until this morning.

Here she is last night worn out from all the festivities:
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year!

Ho Ho Ho