a hair accessory and a sax player

the olympics have been so much fun to watch. the competition, the glory, the heartache, the cute little chinese men walking around backstage. I love it all. Truth be told, the summer olympics could consist of only 2 sports and i would be completely fine. swimming and gymnastics. the swim thing is a new love, and i think the reason is obvious: michael phelps. he is a freak of nature and i love him. the other love, gymnastics, is not a new relationship. this has been a longtime love of mine. i am assuming it steams from my deep desire to be a gymnast. but alas, talent and athletic ability is required. I can do a cartwheel. no more, no less.

But there is one thing I do not love about the olympic games: the scrunchies.

Is it a requirement for all gymnast to wear such hairpieces? Perhaps there is an advantage of wearing such a garment? I understand the hair must be in place, but what I do not understand is why they resort to the fabric covered elastic band, surfaced in the 80's. There must be a better way. I commend you, Shawn Johnson, for not wearing a scrunchie every performance. Yes, you wear a ribbon tied in a bow, but I find that a better alternative to the bright pink scrunchies your teammate, Nastia sports. I challenge you, gymnasts, do away with your old ways. Break away from old habits. It will be well worth it.

But I do congratulate you, Shawn and Nastia, on your medals. I think you're both cute.

On a darker note, LeRoi Moore from the Dave Matthews Band passed away. He was a huge part of my high school and early college days. I thought, honestly and with my whole heart, that if Dave I would only meet, he would surely leave his wife and come be with me. So I spent a lot of time and money listening and traveling to see this band. LeRoi, rest in peace.

i do love lists.

so i am copying a few people, mainly MSKS, by letting the blog world know a few things i simply can not live without.  the rules are simple: list things that makes your life better, excluding the obvious like loved ones (including sophie. duh).  

i like this.  life it about the small things, right?

so here you are, my simple pleasures in life:

1) diet coke.  I am not ashamed to admit this addiction.  i only drink 1 a day (most days), so i like to think that this addiction is under control.  i like coffee, but only on certain days, in certain settings.  i can't really explain it.  it hurts my stomach at times.  i prefer my caffeine cold and in an aluminum can. 

2) hgtv.  my guilty pleasure.  i can't think of any show on this channel that i do not like.  i love house hunters.  i think suzanne wong is just presh.

3) bobbi brown concealer.  it is thick enough to last all day and covers my sometimes rather large under-eye circles.  an instant confidence booster. 

4) lip gloss.  there is little more i can say about this topic except that i love the feel of shiny lips.  on me, not trey.  didn't want there to be confusion. and my lip gloss doesn't have to be expensive.  drug store brand will suffice.  i love lip gloss so much so that a few years ago santa claus left me a whole box of lip smacker lip gloss in my stocking.  it was love.

5) fresh markers.  this also holds true for sharpies.  i love new markers.  new, juicy markers.

6) our hammock. it is large and comfy and in the most perfect shady spot in our backyard. trey, sophie and i can all sit in it comfortably.  that is until sophie's leg gets caught in the rope. 

7) text messaging.  MSKS, we are in an agreement.  Laura is the one that finally talked me into paying the $7.00 to get this incredible invention.  i thought it to be a waste...until my first text was sent.  now i consider myself a master at predictive text.

8) our ipod and speakers.  we love having music playing, so the recent purchase of a fabulous docking station was a great buy.  we love it.  and with a remote control, i feel like i have the musical powers. 

9) bubble bath.  again, drug store brand will suffice.  i love bubble bath.  in fact, i don't remember a time in my life when i didn't enjoy a good bubble bath.  sans the years spent living in community living (ie the dorms and kd house). i dare not get in the tub there.  shower only for me, thank you very much. 

10) comfy clothes.  i love to look cute, mind you. i love getting dressed up and wearing heels.  but at the end of the day, all i think about it comfy clothes.  i feel fairly confident that if socially acceptable, i would wear sweatpants and large t-shirts daily.  but i fear the rath of stacey and clinton, should that ever occur. 

happenings

hi blog land.  i've missed our daily chats. 

a lot to catch you up on.  naturally, i will number for easier reading. 

1) house is still on the market.  after i made a conscious effort to no longer think, worry or stress about the lacking of potential buyers, a great couple called us.  they are a young couple, much like ourselves, only younger, more newlyweds and with a baby on the way.  They were presh.  and loved the house.  i am not getting my hopes up.  they said they are looking at 1 last house today and then they will make a decision.  hooray for cute couples wanting our home. sophie even liked them at first sight.  if that is not a sign, what is? but i will not worry...

 i will keep you updated. 

2) last weekend trey and i staffed the happening.  familiar with such an event? allow me to explain for a moment. the happening is a mississippi high school retreat that 

began 20 years ago by the united methodist church.  it happens 3 times a year (i think.)  trey went through when he was in the 10th grade.  it was probably the most influential tool in helping build his relationship with christ.  he remained very involved throughout his high school days.  when he was in college he went through the journey - which is a slightly different college version of the happening.  following me? i went through the journey my freshman year in college.  my sophomore year I was on staff with trey.  that was our first meeting - remember that story? he didn't remember me, notice me...nothing.  oh well.  then we met a year later for a 2nd time and the rest is history.  when we got married he became an adult leader in the happening and since it was such a powerful part of his life, he really wanted me to be a part of it as well, so 2 years ago i, as an adult, went through the high school happening.  Now, 2 years later, we are on staff together.  it was so fun!  i will say that no sleep and no bath is a little challenging, but these high schoolers are amazing.  I loved every minute of it! if you are in high school or college or you have children those ages and live in mississippi - i highly recommend the happening and journey. 

here are a few pictures of last weekend. 

happening #55 staff

trey leading music

my personal favorite that someone took. a candid, no doubt. look closely for me. i am in mid-yawn.  i require sleep. 

3) While we were at the happening in ocean springs last weekend, sophie was on vacation at kristen, rob's and henry's house.  she was there from thursday-monday morning. she loved it.  as you might have guessed, henry bossed our little girl around. he told her when and where to sit, 'mone, sophie' (come on sophie) and nite-nite, sophie. he also fed her kidney beans.  i am sure she loved it.  so much so that when she was returned to us on monday morning she had matted kidney beans on her back and tail.  i dare not ask how it got there.  needless to say, she slept all day...after her bath, of course. 

House For Sale: Come On In.

Have I mentioned to you all that our house in on the market? Well, it is. For Sale By Owner. In other words: horrible.

The words "Showing available by appointment only" apparently mean nothing to some Hattiesburg residents. Last Sunday, Trey and I just enjoyed a peaceful Sunday afternoon nap when we decided to go into the living room (in our PJs, no less) to watch a little of TV (on our new TV and cable, no less) when a family of 5 knocked on our door and demanded a tour. Demand is a harsh word, I know, but there I was in an oversized T-shirt and Trey's boxers with a 3 year old running through the living room, 5 month old crying and a mother requesting to see the kitchen. There was nothing I could do but excuse myself as I go to our bedroom to put on...um....under garments.

This Sunday a women showed up an hour early for her showing. In broken English, she told us she wanted the house but didn't know how to buy it.

Money, lady. We want your money.

Geez. We get about 7-10 calls a day about our house, have shown it to about 4 families/couples/singles, but no offers. The one bathroom is killing us. Well, people, it's killing me too. One lady did ask if she could take Sophie instead of the house. No woman. My

malte-malte-poo-poo is not for sale. Get out.

I remain faithful.

I will keep you posted.

In other news, Henry likes to dance. Kristen, Laura, Henry and I went to eat Mexican the other night and on the way back to my house the radio was playing "Apple Bottom Jeans". Don't judge. It was his first taste of music other than kindermusic and church song

s. And from the looks of his dance moves, he liked it. During the "Low, low, low" part, he went crazy. dancing, clapping, laughing and singing "Low, Low, Low"

We have it on video. I would share, but the 3 Tomlinson sisters sound like a bunch of laughing hyenas in the background. Quite terrible. Just use your imagination.

So now Kristen said he asks for "Apple Bottom Jeans". He will randomly started singing "low, low, low".

He also learned his full name. Henry Thomas. In his words: "Henie Nomas"

Love that kid.

Here is a picture of him laughing at his Lita, my mama, last weekend:

Bye for now.

it's been a while. and i feel missed.

a terrible thought entered my mind the other day: maybe I should delete my blog. But then "Anonymous" reminded me that I am wanted.

and so i continue my love of the blog.

Big news in the Skaggs home: We bought a TV the other day. This is no small feat, mind you. Have you met Trey? He long thought such things were a waste of time and energy. We have had the large 1992 curved tube in our living room since marriage. With no cable. Trey thought this was the normal way of living. "Cable will rot our brains", said he. Well, after hitting the side of the TV when the picture went away during a rowdy episode of Wheel of Fortune on the local channel, Trey announced that, yes, he wanted a new TV. So off we went. I could faintly hear the music of Rocky playing in the background. It was a big step in our marriage. We bought our TV (nothing big, but flat and new. and when you push channel up, the TV doesn't turn off). We also pick up a DVD player since our current DVD player tends to stop movies mid-way, with no avail of starting it back up.

So a week has past with our new TV and DVD player. We were watching our 1 channel on our nice TV when Trey announced that he was thinking about cable. Hurricane season is coming up and he is a sucker for the weather channel. Surprised and shocked, I decided to say nothing, for it might jinx it all.

Well, friends, at 8 a.m. this morning, cable was installed at the Skaggs home. I can hardly wait to watch Jon and Kate plus 8. Don't call me for like a week...I will be busy.

In other news, we have a house guest until October. My eldest sis - Kristen. She is doing a surgery rotation in the Burg so lives with us from Monday -Thursday from July until October. She is having fun, actually - never is on call and actually gets 4 days of un-interrupted fun with little Henry, who is brilliant, by the way. The kid is 19 months and says 5 syllable words ("Happy Day, Daddy", for example) and says "Bess you, mom-eee" when Kristen sneezes. I pretty much love this kid.

That's all for now.

No fear, I will be back.

GOOD NEWS!

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers!

We received WONDERFUL news yesterday. My mom's pathology report showed that the cancer had not spread at all! Praise God!

What a relief. We all did not realize how tense and stressed we were about "the unknown" until we heard from the doctors. It was a huge sigh of relief! It feels good to breathe normally now!

Next step is for her stitches to come out next week - which I know she is SO ready for. Then in 6 weeks, she will go to the Oncologist just as a follow-up and also to get a full PET Scan so she can get a 'clear' of her entire body. Once that is over, we are completely in the clear! In the meantime, I am wearing 15 spf INSIDE my office. :)

In other news, last weekend was fabulous! We spent the weekend with Kristen and Rob and Henry. We surprised Rob with a party for his 30th birthday. It was great! Henry said "Happy Day" to him. So fun.

For pictures, see Laura's blog!

Sorry for the lack of blogging. this job is fabulous, but oh so time-consuming and a wee bit demanding. I love it, though! Hopefully I will blog some this weekend!

Have a great Thursday!!

prayers, please!

I have a favor to ask of all my fabulous, wonderful friends (those I know, and those who I do not!)

My mother found out Friday that she has Melanoma.  She is having surgery tomorrow (Thursday)  at 2 p.m. Please pray that the cancer is localized and has not spread - we have faith that she will be healed tomorrow!! 

The word "cancer" is such a scary word - so also pray for a peace of mind for all of us.  All of your thoughts and prayers will be very much appreciated as she undergoes this procedure and waits for the outcome.   I know there are many prayer warriors out there, so I wanted to send out this prayer request. 

Thanks, so much! 

- Heather

a long time a-coming...

Hello, blog world. It's been a while. I can only hope I have been missed. let me be the first to say I have missed you. The job is fabulous, but a bit time-consuming. however, I will get to that shortly

first things first...Happy late anniversary to my big sister and bro-in-law, Kristen and Rob! Happy 5 years!
Technically it was on the 7th and just because there was no blog action from the little sister on that day, does not mean I did not think of them. They are a precious couple for many reasons, but let's face the facts: they are everyone's favorite couple because together they made one cute little dude. Henry, obviously. Speaking of which, he is just adorable. Trey has limited "Prince Henry" talk to a mere 15 minutes per day. I shall never understand why he does not want to hear all there is to tell of my little man. For instance, he flushed bath cloths down the toilet the other day. And on his mama and daddy's anniversary, he walked around saying "happy day" to them. And if that is not enough, when leaving Mexican restaurants, he points to the people and says "Adios". I kid you not. Need proof that he is cuter than ever? Here you are:

Look at the belly. Kid doesn't miss a meal.

On a different note, this weekend was Amy's wedding. Very fun. Very beautiful. I have plenty of pictures to share once I can locate my camera attachment thingie. Life is frustrating. Not only did I run out of bubble bath last night, now I can't find my camera attachment thingie to download pictures. But I can't complain too much, my kitchen is completely finished with new tile. I would invite you to come over and view it, but am a little weary of open invitations since the break-in. Wouldn't want to eat my words, if you know what I mean.

Moving on: thanks for the call/emails/FB messages about the new job. So far, so good. I like to think of it as a match made in Heaven. By no means does this mean that it is easy. Far from it. I have tons to learn, but I get to wear trendy clothes and jeans any day of the week. Rock on. The people there are great and the atmosphere is so creative and fresh. I look forward to going each day. Just fabulous. I really do feel blessed.

Next point of blog: Nan and Jeremy are coming to spend the night on Friday. simply put: I CAN NOT WAIT. Do you realize it's been a year? Perhaps you have not, but I have, and I find that completely unacceptable. With any luck, Nan's baby bump is large and in charge by now. I simply can not wait to buy monogrammed items. Please be a girl. Nan, I have asked very little of you during the duration of our friendship, the least you could do is produce a female baby for me.

Well, the husband is calling. It seems he needs my assistance in feeding Sophie. So with that, I say goodbye.

I leave you with a few Memorial Day pictures:

Trey and Henry playing. He loves "tay". Side note: For all of Henry's clothes, please visit www.babyfacedesign.blogspot.com

cute mama

me and Trey

And sisters at the Margarita bar in the Cotton District:

Happy Anniversary!

Happy 2 years, Trey!
I love you more and more everyday. I am so blessed.

And, according to my mom, it just gets better and better! So here's to 70 more!!

I LOVE YOU! What a fun 2 years it has been!

PS - Yesterday was fabulous! I cant type long - I am writing this as I eat breakfast at my house, but soon I will update on my new job. But so far so good!

So long, farewell

Today is my last day at my current job. It is bittersweet. But I so much look forward to starting a new job at RARE. Monday is the big day. Whatever shall I wear?

Anyway, adios, USM. You've taken this bulldog in with open arms. And for that, I will be eternally grateful.

This week, since most of my work has been either completed or delegated, I have had little to do between the hours of 8 and 5 (sans the piles of paperwork that is involved in quitting a state job). The extra time on my hand thus resulted in me thinking about things I have not often pondered.

Thought 1: I need a hobby. My dear husband has many of these. Namely, golf and hunting. These are his two loves. They are relaxing for him, exercise for him and fun for him. While I am still trying to understand the adoration for sitting in the cold with the hopes of seeing an animal, I grew up with a daddy who golfed all the time - I know it is a passion.

My point is this - I want to have something that I look forward to doing on the weekends or my days off. I enjoy painting, but I want something where I can get outside or get some exercise and meet new people. I am up for a challenge

So I have come up with a few options:

1) Tennis. I am not a tennis player, but feel fairly confident that I could pick it up if given the opportunity. I am thinking about going to buy a raquet and tennis skirt and giving it a shot. My friend Olivia is on a league here in the 'burg. Only she is on the highest league there is. She was state campion in highschool. Take that, Serena. I wouldn't be able to play with her even if she was on my level - she is moving to Nashville this week. Bye bye, sweet Olivia. Tennis is probably my best idea for a new hobby. Plus, I hear it is a stellar workout for the gluteus maximus. Rock on.

(not me, but let's be honest: there is a striking similarity)

2) Roller Derby. Good news: according to the local news, Hattiesburg now is the home of a brand spanking new roller derby league. True story. I can only imagine that people that sign up to be a part of such an elite group. But nonetheless, it is a hobby and is one I will consider. until they make me wear spandex. Or roller skates. Other than that, I am up for whatever.

3) Smocking / monograming. I realize the physical aspect of this hobby is slim to none, but I imagine if I learn such a skill, money will follow. People, like my sister who dresses their child in nothing but smockings and/or monogramed clothing, would pay me the big bucks to dress their children. I don't know. My fear is that I will buy an expenisve machine, then quit halfway through a shirt for Henry, resulting in a shirt I will make him wear that says simply "Hen". I suppose it's a thought, though. I will keep it in mind.

So there you have it. My top 3 choices for a new hobby. Suggestions, comments and recomendations welcome.

I realize I have not given updates / pictures of last weekend. That was not intentional. I do apologize. Nan sent me a nasty message pointing out my lack of blogging this week. Demanding? Perhaps. But it makes me feel wanted. The weekend was fabulous. Our days in Starkville were spent watching Henry's every move, commenting on all he did. My Nana (Sassy Nana) bought him a kiddie-pool, so for an hour straight my whole family sat in lawn chairs surrounding his pool, watching Henry splash. Naked. Cute thing. I kid you not, this kid is a genious. He cleans up his mess, tells you exactly what he wants/needs, does not cry, and knows everyone (even my parent's neighbors) by name. Prodigy? Possibly. At not quiet 17 months, I would like to think so.

Pictures to come. Laura and my mama took the good ones. But they are at the beach, so I must wait. Poor them. Soaking up rays on the white sandy beaches as I slave away at my computer. Bitter much? Yes.