Happy Fall, Ya'll!

Henry's Halloween and fall pictures! 

So precious...

life, and such.

Recently I have thought about just quitting everything and blogging for a living instead. It is way more fun and lots less stressful. I can't believe trey won't let me. I am not so sure it will bring home the bacon, but i sure do miss my blogging.

but i am here, for the time being, at least.

I have so many pictures and stories to share. some pictures, of course, will have to wait, as I do not have them on the computer. But here is a list (numbered, naturally) of happenings in my life as of late.

1) Our house is STILL for sale. Really, people? we are pushing six months. I always, since I was little, compared time to 9 months. Maybe that is because of pregnancy? I don't know. I do know this is strange, but I do it just the same. Anyway, our house has almost been for sale as long as it takes to grow a baby. This is so unexpected. I blame the market fo' sho'. I mean, I even put it on marketplace on facebook. Yes, I listed my home on facebook. I have gotten several messages about it via the book and have shown it twice because of the listing there. My favorite message from the facebook listing: "How much be yur house for a month?" Umm....I don't think this is going to work out, sir. Not renting, selling. Depends on loans, down payment, etc... He didn't respond. I am assuming Facebook doesn't require an IQ test. I am not giving up on the sale, though. I am just learning patience.

2) Sophie is a mermaid for Halloween. She hates it.

3) Trey, my mom, my daddy and I went on a vacation last week. It was a taste of Heaven on earth, I tell ya. We went to Highlands, NC. It was gorgeous. The leaves were peeking and just breathtaking. We relaxed, ate way too much good food, hiked, and read by the fire. Did I mention that I wish I was still there? Well, I do. One day we drove to Ashville and spent the whole day at the Biltmore house and winery. I love it. I am pretty sure there are ghost of George Vanderbilt's servants living there. Trey doesn't agree.

Anyway, good times with the parents. Much needed and much enjoyed. Fun times. Here are a few pictures from my mom's camera. I have a whole album of pics, but alas, not on the computer:

Me and Trey on top of Sunset Rock after a hike.

Some views in the neighborhood and hikes:

Me and Trey before dinner standing in front of my house that won't sell. (Sike)

My cute mom and daddy in front of the Biltmore.

I WANT TO GO BACK!!! Mama? Please?

4) Kristen is still living with me and Trey. After about 4 months of living with us during the weekdays, I gotta say, I will miss her when her surgery rotation is up in 2 weeks. Laura, you moving in for the next 5 months? I don't know what Trey is going to do when he is back down to living with only one Tomlinson girl.

5) Henry, who will be 2 Dec. 1, is officially my love. I love him. When he leaves school each day, he says clear as day "Bye bye, friends. Have a good day!" Trey is convinced he could knock out a 22 on the ACT tomorrow, if given the chance. I will have to say I agree. And, no, I am not biased. cute kid.

I guess that covers it for now. Now you are a bit more in touch with my life, as I am sure you all have been dying to hear about.

hello blog, it's me, heather

I feel like I have abandoned all of you.  This is not intentional, blog friend.  Life is busy.  I know your life is busy, too, so I won't get into it. 

I have great pictures of Sophie and Sam.  Sam, you ask? note: the cat in previous post.  He is practically a Skaggs by now.  We (I) named him Sam, obviously.  Just because we (I) thought "Sophie and Sam" sounded good together. Like when you say "Come here Sophie and Sam!"  I know his real name, but I refuse to call him that.  It is "Toddy", yeah, like Hotty Toddy.  The owners are Ole Miss grads.  That just won't do. I openly call him Sam and they are ok with it. 

Point is, when I have spare time, I will download and share the photos.  They are BFF for life. 

I am quiet fond of little Sam, the kitty. 

There is plenty more going on in my life besides Sophie and Sam that I am sure you are all just on pins and needles to hear about, but time is limited.  So, to satisfy your everlasting thirst of wanting to know more about me, here is a quick quiz I stole for the sis. 

A. attached or single?  attached- Married to Trey

B. best friend? i have many.  honestly, though, trey, my mom and dad, and my sisters.  I can't go a day without talking to all of them at least once. I have been blessed with many friends throughout my entire life, though, that are not family! Too many to name. 

C. Cake or pie? depends.  strawberry cake and cream cheese icing and key lime pie! I can't choose. 

D. Day of choice? Friday - the anticipation of the weekend. 

E. Essential item? cell phone

F. Favorite color? red

G. Gummy bears or worms? bears

H. Hometown? Starkville.  I love it there. 

I. Favorite indulgence? Mexican food and new shoes. and eating mexican food while wearing new shoes. 

J. january or July? January for sure.  I love the smell and look of clean calendars.  No really.  I love it. 

K. Kids? Do I have them? no.  Do I love them? yes. 

L. Life isn't complete without my? family

M. Marriage date? June 3, 2006

N. Number of brothers and sisters? 2 big sisters, 2 brother-in-laws - one older and one younger. All fabulous.

O. Oranges or apples.  Apples. I love oranges, but hate the white strings in them. 

P. Phobias? roaches. hurts me just to type that. 

Q. Quotes? not sure.  that is not my quote, that is my answer. 

R. Reason to smile? THE WEEKEND IS HERE. very rough week, no doubt. 

S. Season of choice? Oh I love the fall.  

T. Tag 5 people. That is annoying. 

U. Unknown fact about me? I lead 7th grade girls small group at church.  They are hilarious. 

V. Vegetable? I love them all. 

W. Worst habit? I stress out sometimes.  And when I start stressing, I can't stop. This week was one of those weeks, if you want to know.  But I am ok now.  The weekend is here!

X. X-ray or ultrasound? Like which do I prefer? I don't get this one.  I have never had an ultrasound. I have had x-rays.  I once had a nail in my head. 

Y. favorite foods? I love food. Mexican and Japanese is my favorite though. And ice cream. And cereal. 

Z. Zodiac sign? Taurus. 

Happy weekend!  We are off to the coast to visit Trey's parents tonight then going to an engagement party tomorrow night.  So fun!

Sophie's new best friend.

I am not a cat person. Never have been. I think they are a bit quirky and not very sociable. Please, cat lovers, do not persecute me. I am not saying they are terrible creatures, I am just pointing out the fact that I am much more a dog person.

Well last night when I pulled up at my home after small group, Sophie and Kristen were waiting for me in the garage. Sophie ran to me as she always does. I imagine this a bit like having children. I, for one, have no kids other than the malte-poo, so am only making this judgment based solely on observation. Anyway, it was then that Sophie spotted a new friend: the cutest, smallest little silver and white kitten in all the land. I was scared of what my 10 lb. fur-ball might do to this petite little youngster, but to my surprise I found them kissing. Kristen and I almost cried it was so cute. They played together in the front yard, walked side-by-side on the sidewalk and kissed each other.

I figured it was our new neighbors' and didn't think about it

again. Until this morning. The little kitty cat was waiting for us on the front porch. He/she is the cutest thing. I opened the front door and put out a bowl of milk and water, since I do not know her drink of choice yet. She lapped up the milk. It is pretty much love.

Sophie and I went inside so I could finish getting ready for work. But Sophie was not happy with that decision. She sat by the front door and cried! She wanted her friend! I immediately called the husband to ask if we could keep the cat.

he said no.

But I don't care. I will name him/her and will continue to feed the little body as long as Sophie's friend continues to pay us a visit.

Now I just need a name for the cute thing. I was thinking gender neutral since I do not know the sex, but Trey informed me that all it takes is lifting the leg to see what gender he/she is. I didn't even think of that. I guess that is why I am not a vet.

I will let you know. Hopefully pictures, too.

(not the new friend, but there is an uncanny similarity between this googled image and the real deal)

Happy Birthday, my dear!

Today is my husband's birthday!!  HIP HIP HOORAY!!

In honor of his 28th, here are 28 fun facts about Trey that you may or may not know:

1) he is a master on the guitar

2) and the mandolin

3) he is so passionate about students and youth

4) he teaches 11th and 12th grade Sunday school and they pretty much think he is the coolest

5) he wanted a big dog, but now wouldn't trade our 9 lb. malte-malte-poo-poo for anything.  He talks to her when I am not in the room. 

6) he is the best big brother to Adam

7) he loves chocolate and sweets more than any girl I know

8) he loves being in the woods and reading

9) he wear bow-ties

10) he still drives the same truck he got in high school.  the other day I noticed a string hanging from the bottom.  when i asked him what it was, he responded without a hint of embarrassment that it was simply the string that held the balloon when it was on the car lot.  That was 12 years ago. 

11) he thinks there is no reason to buy a new truck

12) he loves Christmas more than anything, even chocolate.  he starts listening to Christmas music in September and begs me to put up the tree in October. 

13) he is a great gift giver.  He picks out clothes for me from Anthropology. 

14) he is brilliant.  really.  kinda a little too smart at times. 

15) he had really thick glasses as a kid.  Really thick.  He was pretty much blind.  He had surgery and now can see...contacts and glasses free!

16) when we were dating, he was a youth minister in Atlanta and had easy access to all kinds of crafts.  he would make me stuff and mail it to me. 

17) he loves going on vacation.  anywhere, really, but his favorite is snow skiing.  he will sacrifice eating if it meant he could go on vacation.  he thinks the memories are worth any cost.  I love that about him. 

18) he loves his family and would do anything for them

19) he loves my family and would do anything for them

20) he always says he wants boys when we have children, but I am convinced he secretly wants little girls - I see they way he spoils Sophie. 

21) he gets his hair cut at a crazy place where the girls cutting your hair wears referee uniforms and ESPN is always on.  I refuse to go in there. 

22) he will pay good money for a bow-tie, but refuses to buy socks. 

23) when we were first married, he was going to surprise me by cooking dinner.  he heard of cooking with wine, so he marinated chicken in red wine vinegar.  It was awful. 

24) he wants to be Indiana Jones

25) as a child he thought his baseball cards would one day make him a millionaire.  He still has the cards.  They are worth a total of about $21.00. 

26) he can draw and paint, but won't admit it. 

27) he thinks that if he had been trained correctly, he could have played beach volleyball in the Olympics.  I bring this up from time to time just for laughs. 

28) he is the greatest best friend in the whole wide world!

I love you, Trey, and I hope you have a fabulous 28th year of life!

reporting in

So when I said in my previous post that I had plans that did not include some hurricane raining on my parade, I should have also pointed out that my plans did not include throwing up everything I had inside me for hours straight. But alas, I play with the cards I am dealt.

I am sorry for the graphic nature of this blog, but please, for sympathy purposes only, let me explain to you all how my week got off to a banging good start.

The original plan was for me to leave Friday and head on up to Nashville to see my dear friend Susanna. We have been best friends since the 2nd grade when I introduced myself in Mrs. Saucier's class by saying "Hey. I'm Heathuw". In a really quiet, shy voice. Speech impediment and all. She loved me from the start. We were both wearing homemade bubble suits for crying out loud: it was a friendship made in Heaven. Anyway, I can tell I am losing you.

So I was going to go to Nashville to see her (Olivia, if you are out there reading this, my plan was to call you and see you too. a fun time would surely been had by all) . Well once Gustav was on his merry way, my husband, the careful coast-born hurricane ready man that he is, was fearful that once I was away, I would not be able to get back home in a timely manner due to the fact that the interstates coming in would be all be north-bound for evacuees. AWESOME. So I did as I was told. Not wanting to put my husband through any stress, I cancelled the nashville trip.

But I was not going to let Gustav ruin my whole weekend! Oh no. So I packed my bags and made my way to see my little Henry, or Hennie, as he calls himself. Since Trey had plans this weekend and would spend a great deal working and Gustav would not be paying a visit until Sunday or Monday, a trip to see my little man sounded like a plan.

And it was. We played. We ate. We read. We painted. We raced on bunnen-bunnens. Obviously this is the little riding thing for toddlers. I don't know how to spell it. By Sunday, Gustav was knocking on the gulf's doors and I was getting a little nervous. So what did I do? I headed south.

Kristen thought this to be a dumb thing for me to do, but I figured I did not want Trey to ride out the hurricane alone, should it decide to come to Mississippi, so I must go to him. So kissed everyone goodbye and drove home. Since I did not have my camera and do not have a visual, I would like very much for you all to use your imagination here: The traffic on I-20 heading out of Clinton was crazy. Full of cajuns and coasties, I am assuming. Trailers, busses, red cross vans. Everyone prepared for Gustav, who apparently everyone was assuming was Katrina's brother. The moment I turned onto South 49, I was alone. NOT ANOTHER CAR. 49 North was in standstill traffic. Not me. I was cruising at a good 75 MPH. I counted 4 other cars on my way home that day. 1 was a Red Cross van, but I am counting it for good measure.

So I get home on Sunday to see that my sweet husband cleaned the house. Cute boy. But that is besides the point. I started feeling a little woozy. So naturally we went to eat Mexican. We feel that cures all blues. Well, not this one buddy.

A few hours later I was hovered over the toilet ridding myself of all that I had eaten the past 72 hours. It was horrific. Poor Trey.

This lasted hours. Through the storm. There were several tornado warnings on Monday, so my sweet husband pulled the mattress off the daybed in a spare room and put in the hallway close to the bathroom. Easy access.

So that is how I spent my first half of the week. I just hope I didn't get Hennie or his parents sick.

Now you know.

a note to our friend in the gulf

Dear Gustav, 

First of all, I don't understand your name.  

Secondly, please don't.  Just don't. 

Just go away.   

I have plans for the weekend and next week, none of which includes cleaning up debris,  living without electricity, or having trees through my roof.  

There is already a line to get gas here and bottle water is running low at the stores.  I am in no mood for such none-sense. 

Please, for the sake of my sanity and those around me, take you and your friend Katrina and be gone. 

Thanks. 

Your friend, 

Heather

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.