Trail Mix & Spilled Coffee

Sorry no posts from me this week! I don't have any really good excuse except that I haven't felt motivated to blog because I've been busy with so many other things.

Sunday was my great friend, Corie's, baby shower!! It was so fun. I got to see my other dearies, Beth and Tracy and Beth's mom, "mommy Pat" and Tracy's new beautiful little girl, Abby, among other familiar faces. It was fun and Corie looked flawless and beautiful! I am so excited because she is coming back up from St. Louis next week just so I can shoot her maternity pictures! (Woot!)

While Tracy and her family were here visiting from North Carolina, I was going to shoot their family on Monday afternoon, but it ended up raining, so we postponed the shoot until they are back home again in June and July. Which actually works out better because there will be green grass, trees with leaves and flowers. Plus, Abby should be sitting up well on her own then. (Speaking of Trace, darling, you NEED a blog!)

So, I have to drive 35-40 minutes each way to the town where my chiropractor is 2-3 times a week. While I loooove him and love going because I feel so good afterwards and because I get to see my friend, Beth, each time I go, I am so tired of the driving already. I think mostly because it's so expensive for me to get there and back with gas prices the way they are. That's a lot of driving for me each week in the van. I'm not really sure what to do because I know it's really benefiting me. Anyway, that's just something on my mind.

So while in town this week for my chiro, during the time of my son's preschool, on both Monday and Wednesday, Maia and I ran errands. I bought some organizational things for my very un-functional closet (it's tiny tiny), we got a baby pressie for our friends Danielle & Dan (my roomie in college whom I've talked about who had a girl March 20th!) and we went to the cat vet and made an appointment for my cat, Heinz (yes, he's named after ketchup and if you didn't realize how much I like ketchup, welp, -----> now you do!) for his hair problem that he STILL HAS. (It's driving me completely batty.) I also dropped off some pictures at a client's home. Aren't they the cutest "clients"?

But then while at home this week, I spent a good number of hours sorting through winter clothes and adding them to the "winter clothes" boxes for storage and picking out all the items that the kids can no longer wear. Then I put out the new spring and summer things (note to file, still need to do mine) and then I piled up about 10 piles of Noah and Maia's clothes to send off to friends who can use them. We got all the stacks of clothes but 1 mailed off. So I also spent a lot of time in the United States Post Office this week. But I'm so happy to have done that because the clothes are being put to good use and they're out of my house -- the most important thing, right?! :c)

Speaking of clothes, I went through a lot of my own as well, and I have a lot to give to whomever speaks for them first. And they are a lot of very very nice things. Anyone interested?

So don't dis me for this because I cannot help my size. I'm blessed to have great metabolism because yes, I do like to eat, and yes, I eat a lot! Believe me, there are a lot of things I don't like about my body, however I am very thankful that my size is one thing I don't have to worry about ---- yet.

Before I got pregnant with Noah, I was a size 0-2. After pregnancy I was told by some people that I'd never be back into a size 0. And they were right, I wasn't right away. I began as an 8, then went down to a 4 for about 6 months, but then suddenly I could wear my 2's again. (Never say never!) They didn't fit exactly as they had before, you know how our bodies change, but the point is, they did fit! Well, since I am not having anymore babies, I have no need to hold onto these 4's. So if anyone is interested, I have probably 15 pairs of brand new J Crew jeans and dress pants and I will sell them super cheap just so I don't have to spend the time listing them on ebay! Some were worn once or twice. I also have some Gap in the pile.

It's also been a busy or exciting week for some people I know. My brother-in-law, Brad, had his birthday yesterday. Happy Birthday, Bradley. Hope you liked Ella's "pink cake"! And then Neil and Brad's cousin, Kara, had her baby boy, Spencer, on the 1st. She was 3-4 weeks early and he was close to 8 lbs and Kara is a tiny size 0 girl! I can't believe he was so big. I saw her a few days before and she didn't look that large! (Spencer must have been hiding well.) I am still waiting to see some pictures. Anyone, anyone?? Congratulations to Kara and Josh! It's their first child.

On the flip side, my friend, Jennifer, is dealing with her grandmother's body beginning to shut down (bless Jenn's mom for taking care of her dear mother), and then my dear friend, Kristin, lost her grandfather yesterday. She had a relationship with her grandpa like I did with my own. He was a fantastic person and I am so touched that I had a chance over our long years of knowing each other to have met him. Again, I'm sorry, K. It's never ever easy. And a really hard thing is, Kristin's birthday is Sunday on the day of visitation. If you know Kristin, please send her a card. I know that would be extra special for her during such a rough time in her life.

And please think of my very dear friend, Alexis, as she is on an airplane RIGHT NOW flying to Thailand for her and Matt's 10th anniversary! She is nervous and upset to be leaving her kids as they didn't make it easy on her to leave. And if you know her, you know her anxieties are already way up there. So think of her and say some extra prayers for her that they make it safely and that they have an amazing time.

Finally, know how my week has ended?? I got home from picking up Noah from preschool and I brought the kids upstairs to the kitchen for lunch. Maia got up on the island area where my laptop was open and where my old cold coffee was sitting next to it. And I'm sure you can guess what happened.

I was doing something in the sink and I kept hearing "I'm sorry, mommy, I'm sorry, mommy, I'm sorry, mommy . . . " and I turn around to the sight of spilled coffee all over my keyboard. Oh.My.Lord. And that's exactly what I said, too. I quickly turn it over and let the coffee drain out on the floor and wipe it up with a towel. I figured I'd look at the screen and see it black and dead, but it was still on!! Praise the Lord! So I'm praying still that it doesn't eventually die on me, but so far so good. Cross your fingers for me! This is a scary situation on my hands! I swear my computer luck is not good. I am usually in dire mac situations at least once a year for whatever reason.

I just hope to never ever mention spilled coffee on my computer again. Lesson learned: don't put your coffee cup near the computer and don't leave the computer open. Ever.

A photography post coming soon!!!! Maybe even today!!

Timeline Tidbits (to help you with the quiz!)

Late 80's - Early 90's - I was in love with this band. Obviously, you say? (FYI --- answer to a "trick" question)




Early 90's - I bought my first pair of boxers from a certain favorite catalog which for umpteen years has been my favorite place to shop. (Hint: see the Sassy magazine post.)





August 1996 - Even though Neil was one year behind me in high school (yes, we were high school sweethearts), he went to SIU before me. He went straight there in 1995 and I finished up my 2 years at community college. It was in 1996 that I packed up my Ford Escort and drove it 3-1/2 hours to school with Neil. I actually liked my Escort. It was small like a VW Cabrio so I pretended that it was a VW I was driving and not the Ford.



October-ish 1996 - Two of my best friends, Kalina and Natalie, came down to visit me at school quite often. One thing we did a few times was go out to Giant City National Forest and go through "Fast Man's Squeeze". Southern Illinois is very hilly. It's so different from the rest of Illinois where it's completely flat. Down in Southern Illinois there are lots of glacial rock formations, geologic faulting and erosion. It's an amazing thing to see which is why just about every weekend Neil, myself and friends journeyed out there to explore.

"Fat Man's Squeeze" is a small opening in between two sandstone walls that create the feel of soaring city streets fit for a giant. The actual area that you "squeeze" into is about 10 or 12 inches wide. You have to crawl up and through a tiny cave-like area between the soaring rocks which leads to the tiny infamous space called "Fat Man's Sqeeze".

Meanie I was, I always told my friends that they had to go through it and every time I laughed my behind off while TAKING PICTURES of them doing it. I am so so bad. Natalie told me that she was going to get me to go through it one day. (Yeah, right, you'd have to put a gun to my head!) Here are Nat and Kalina "squeezing" through the "Fat Man" opening to squeeze out. Natalie got out just fine but Kalina's breast-area got a little stuck. She had a panic attack and went the other way. You can see the panic on her face!





1997 - I move into a house with these 2 guys, seen here with Frankie, the doggie Neil and I still have.
Rusty and Dan are their names. I don't quite know how in the world I lived with these insanely crazy guys, but I managed to . . . somehow. (Just kidding, guys, I love you!) I went to grade school and high school with these boys. They were two of my dearest friends, and to this day I would never leave them out of any part of my life, and the same goes for them with me, I think!

But look what I dealt with! :c) (And look at that couch!!!!)


I hope they don't use it against me that I'm posting these pictures, but what great memories. I had the absolute best time living with them. Neil was over a lot and the 4 of us hung out together. We (they) cooked a lot of meals together, too. It's a blurry picture, but this is what I saw a lot. 3 guys in the kitchen?! Hard to believe, eh?! I was soooo lucky; a girl doesn't live see it often!:)





September 1998 - One Saturday Neil took me back out to Giant City at the exact area that we had these pictures taken a year earlier. It was our favorite spot. (And yes, that's Frankie, who today is 11!)



We had a picnic and in the bottom of the food was a container with our dessert (Farley snacks - what a dessert, eh?!) and in the bottom of that container was a ring box. It was a great day :) 9 months later we were married. A picture from the day he proposed taken by a tree :c)







Summer of 1999 - My grandma Libby was one of my best friends. She was my inspiration and role model. During this summer we had a surprise anniversary party for her and my grandpa. It was a great time. The parrty happened after her chemotherapy and radiation treatments for breast cancer. She still didn't have a whole lot of energy but was gaining a lot of it back. I hadn't seen her smile so big and so much in a loooong time. Her hair was still coming back in and she looked so beautiful without hardly any hair. She was proud to be a woman and to be a survivor. I was so very proud of her, too. So was mom. Grandma got to see me married and then in February of 2000 she was admitted to ICU for leukemia (and then pneumonia) that she developed which mom and I think was caused by her chemo treatments. That chemotherapy kills cells and so of course it has to have an impact on healthy ones. The chemo did extend her life, but the last month of her life was an intense battle. She died the day after my birthday, on March 17, 2000. She was taken off life support on my birthday. I prayed to God that she wouldn't die on my birthday. He allowed her to live till the morning of the 17th. I miss her greatly. This picture was taken at her anniversary party just months before she left us.

My obsession, revealed.

** new ** Oops, I forgot to put the Kurt Cobain one, so I added it at the end :c) (Sorry.)

I think I have mentioned before how I like paper-y items such as catalogs and magazines and how I like to keep stuff such as those? (Remember this post?) Well, if you didn't believe me then, you are bound to believe me now. Here is real-life raw proof.

My mom and dad are getting ready to put their house on the market (-- something I'm really really excited about for them!) and while cleaning out my old bedroom closet at their house, my mom found some things she thought I'd want. Old magazines that I had kept -- from 17+ years ago. (Oh man, this really shows my age.)

I was ecstatic when she brought them over because I remember thinking at the time of keeping them, that perhaps they will be worth holding onto a few years from now. Even if they aren't worth anything now, they're worth the memory of actually reading them and especially my memories of what I really loved back during this time.

Neil thought I was insane (and still does) for the excitement I showed as I pulled these out of the bag going down memory lane. But that's one of the reasons why he loves me -- I'm just really goofy like that. So here they are . . . some beloved magazines from my early teen years.

This one here is the 2nd Seventeen magazine I ever bought. I was 13 years old. I remember buying my very first Seventeen when it came out with it's August back-to-school issue (remember those, girls, how thick they were?!). I didn't keep the Aug one, I'm not sure why, but I did keep this one probably because it's pretty. (*rolling my eyes*)
Now I should win some reward for this one. I have now been a huge (purchasing) fan of J Crew clothes for 17 years! This was my first J Crew magazine that I ever received.
I remember one of my bff's (Kristin) and I drooling over some of their clothes as freshman in high school and finally getting the okay from our moms that we could order a t-shirt and boxer shorts. I bought these Christmas boxers and the orange polka dot boxers. I can't remember the ones K bought. K, refresh my memory! (And do you have that picture of us in our J Crew garb looking oh-so-teen?!)
As you will shortly see I was a huuuuuge 90210 fan, especially in the beginning. And while Luke Perry was my favorite, I did have a tiny crush on Jason. I was also a huge Sassy magazine fan, a 'zine no longer in publication, hence all the Sassy magazines you will see. One reason I loved that magazine was because it was so different. Sassy was one of the first teen fashion 'zines to use celebrities on their covers. They always had the coolest covers and those seemed to be the ones I chose to keep. I did like Johnny Depp (this was during his phase of 21 Jump Street and after his movie that I loved, Cry-Baby) and Christian Slater (remember Pump Up the Volume??) but I was only a somewhat-fan of Nirvana (I only really liked the song, "Smells Like Teen Spirit"), so I'm not sure why I kept this Sassy of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, but nevertheless, I did, and well, I'm kinda curious now if this one is worth anything because I'd totally be willing to sell it! (Anyone?!) I'm just in awe that I even kept it. For those of you who may not be in the "know" of Kurt, he died of a drug overdose in the 90's and was married (married, right?) to Courtney.






Speaking of Sassy, has anyone read this book? I just came across it and now must read it. I'm hoping there are other late Sassy lovers out there who will share in my new-found must-have must-read joy. How cool is this?!

And who didn't love Tom?! This was around the time of A Few Good Men (awesome movie) and Far and Away (great romance that he starred in with his then wife, Nicole . . . or is this when they met?). I just loved Tom . . . however now? . . . not so much. Eww.

But Milla I have loved since day one. She starred in one of my very favorite movies of all time Return to the Blue Lagoon (Kristin and I watched this dozen of times together) and was on tons of teen mags in my teen years. I loved her name so much that it has always been on my "favorihttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifte names list" and while Neil totally vetoed it when we were picking girl names, he didn't veto Maia. See the similarity?! :c) Now Milla Jovovich is a mommy herself. I think it's so awesome.

So, there you have it: my obsession with magazines starting at a very young age and my bad habit of keeping things such as them in boxes in my closets . . . revealed. I do think it maybe tells something about me that I never realized at the time. My love of graphic design, photography, and well, okay fine, . . . really cute guys :c)