Premiere Night!

How exciting!!!! The long-awaited movie finally hit the big screen! However, despite the absolute amazing and fabulous drama in the theatre, we were not anticipating how our long-awaited movie premiere night would actually go.....

We met at PF Changs for appetizers and of course, cosmos. Our original plan had been to rent a limo this evening but Josh had a better idea....take a cab! After all, thats how the New Yorkers get around! And, tonight my friends, was ALL about Manhatten! We had rounds of cosmos, fabulous munchies and delicious little desserts and we went outside to hail our taxi. Or so we thought. The taxi had been waiting outside for us and when we approached he went to turn it on. We heard a loud screech and realized that it had died....right in front of us! We didnt have time to wait for another one so off we were to the theatre (hopefully the cabbie isn't still sitting there).

Once we hit Tinseltown it was apparent that something BIG was going on (pun intended). I had seen a news crew there earlier and limos were starting to pull up as girls filtered out. Thankfully we were there early enough to get seats all together. Unfortunately, as the lights of Manhatten lit up the screen, something lit up in Josh. He ended up getting sick and missed the whole movie. We found him later crouched in the car.

However, since Scotty was not in town yet, we are going to be re-doing our premiere night on Sunday night! SO....for those of you who have already seen it...dont tell Josh anything! And, pray that I will not slip either! haha!

And by the way, for all of you SATC fans who haven't seen it yet.....trust me, you will NOT be disappointed. Was it fabulous and well worth it? In a more G-rated SATC fashion....."ABSO****ingLUTELY".

Independence, MO

While I was in KC visiting, I actually stayed at my house! It was a little wierd being a guest in my own house but I was grateful that Debbie, my friend and renter, allowed me to stay for a visit. The pictures of the flowers are actually the roses that are blooming on the front porch. They are just beautiful during this time of year! It was fun to hang out like old times with Debbie and her daughter, Audrey. I am so blessed that they live there.

I also was able to see my sweet nephew, Hudson, and my best friend. We had orginally planned on going to a local park to play but due to the rainy MO weather we ended up taking a trip to the new Bass Pro Shop to check it out instead. Hudson seemed to enjoy running around the camo clothes and stuffed deer animals on display as Rachel and I laughed about the big fish mailboxes and other crazy fishing and hunting momentos that you can purchase. It was a very short visit but always a pleasure to be able to squeeze and hug them in person!

Trip to Kansas City!

For my friends and family who are wondering where I have been and what I have been up to....I was actually in KC for a visit this weekend! (Sorry for the delay in blogging Dad! haha!) It was a fun and full weekend and it was great to be able to see as many people as I did. The first picture is of the Nicholson girls. I started babysitting for this family when I was in college. Claire, the oldest, was only 3 at the time and Sarah Grace (not pictured) was about 18 months. By the time I graduated college, Emily and Jill had come along. It is wild to see how grown up they all are now! Claire just turned 16 and is driving!!! WOW!!!

For a good portion of my weekend I was in Garnett, KS painting Nate's room in a puppy theme. It was fun to paint another room and to see Nate and my KS "family"!

Game Night!

Last night we had another fun game night with the neighbors! We went out to dinner first and then everyone came over to Scott and Josh's afterwards. Our usual game is Catch Phrase, but we opted for another game called Loaded Questions. It was interesting to say the least, but fun because we had great company!

Not much going on this weekend. Scott and I attempted to lay out at the beach today but it was cloudy and a little chilly so we did not last long. Oh well. Another time and another day!

Happy Mother's Day!

I wrote this poem several years ago, but like to share it every Mother's Day.....

TO ALL MOTHERS

To the mother who has no children,
But yearns to hold a baby tight,
We thank her for her growing love,
And pray for a future so bright.

To the mother who gave her baby up,
Because it was for the best,
We thank her for the gift of life,
And for exhibiting such unselfishness.

To the mother who has adopted,
To give a precious baby a home,
We thank her for her open heart,
And for loving the child as her own.

To the mother who has lost a child,
And struggles to understand,
We thank her for her faith in God,
Knowing that He is holding her
young one’s hand.

To the mother who continues to show us,
That she is ‘always right’,
We thank her for her wisdom,
And for the kisses and hugs so tight.

To the mother with grown children
Who is living in an empty nest,
We thank her for her outstretched arms,
And generations that have been blessed.

To the mother who is fighting for her life,
To get through another day,
We thank her for her courage and strength,
And we pray for a cure before it is too late.

To the mother who has forgotten,
Because her memory has gone astray,
We thank her for holding our hand,
As we deal with the loss and the pain.

To the mother who has her angel’s wings,
And is looking down from above,
We thank her for the life she led,
And memories that are full of love.

To all the mothers out there,
You make this world a better place,
We thank you for who you are,
And the smiles you put on our face.


by: Stephanie Martin

To my Mom, Step-Mom, and to ALL of my friends who have children.......

Happy Mother's Day!

God Bless you on this very special day!

Who let the BIRDS out....????

So, I must say....I have to be the 'jackie'-of-all-trades. When I first moved here to Jax, I went around to some of the neighbors to introduce myself and my business. I figured since it was a brand-new subdivision, there might be a few people around who may need their kids rooms painted. Pretty good assumption right? Well, instead of getting a call to paint a child's room, I received a call from one of the neighbors asking me if I would bird-sit for them. Bird-sitting was not on my resume but I figured, what the heck, why not. Friends, let this be a lesson to you....if anyone asks you to bird-sit....just say no.

They have 4 birds-2 smaller, 2 bigger. And, it was obvious the first day I went over to feed the birds that the bigger birds did NOT want me there. I opened the water door and one of them grabbed it with their beak and pulled it shut! I filled up the food bowls and they both took their beaks and pushed all of the food out! We did this little song and dance a couple of times before I thought, "too bad, so sad! I tried!" I checked all the latches 3x before leaving because I was paranoid something would happen on my watch to these $1800 (a piece) birds (and yes, you read that price right...I checked that 3x too).

The next day I took a witness with me. Everyone had thought I was crazy when I told them about the stubborn creatures and how they were trying to disrupt my bird-sitting-job-responsibilities. I pursuaded Scott to go over with me....we headed over there, opened the gate, and to my surprise the bigger birds were OUT! I just stood there in shock knowing there was something wrong with this picture! One was just walking around the yard and one was sitting on top of the little birds cage! I was yelling, "They're out, they're out!" My brother was yelling, "I don't know what to do! I don't know what to do!" and the birds were squalking, "Good morning! Good morning!" Dang birds. I quickly shut the gate and did what any other good, responsible, caring bird-sitter would do. I freaked out!!!!

I left a desperate message and about 243 apologys on the owners voicemail. Thankfully they were super nice, sent over help, and within 20 minutes the birds were back in their cages and all was well (the pic of the escape artists was shot while we was waiting for help to arrive). So, who let the BIRDS out? Turns out the birds are incredibly smart and had opened the latch and had let themselves out for a little stroll.

Goodness gracious. Only me I swear. I have another bird-sitting job in June.

Things to look forward to......

11 days until payday
19 days until I get to see my nephew
24 days until the Sex and the City movie comes out
131 days until my 31st birthday (but who is counting?!)

Here he is....Mr. MBA!!!!!!

Well, it has been one exciting weekend! My brother graduated with his MBA, quite an amazing achievement! The whole fam was here for the celebration, including his best friend, Sarah, who flew into town from Kentucky. Let me explain the pictures.....


1. Friday night we all went out to eat at a local burger joint. Peter and Joshua were egged on by Scott to get on the Wall of Fame. NOW, in order to get on the Wall of Fame, you have to eat a burger, and not just any burger, a ONE and A HALF lb. burger, bun and all (oh yeah, and the basket of fries that come with it too!). They both did it and received complimentary shirts along with their picture to be proudly displayed on the Wall of Fame. They dedicated it to Scott.


2. He did it! We are all sooo proud of him!!!!


3. Scott and dad were the washer champions for the evening. We had a big party at Scott's house (which included 4 dogs, the whole family, and lots of friends) and we got a washers tournament going. One of the best parts of the evening was when mom and I went up against dad and Scott in their last game. We were hoping to end their undefeated streak, but came up a few points short. Oh well...it was a blast trying! Nothing like a little family game to make a party memorable!


4. Sarah, Scott, me and Joshua hung out today before Sarah left to go back to Kentucky.

Best Gift EVER!

Today was the longest day ever...not bad at all...just long. I had Gabi 7-1, ran errands, and then had to be at the Y from 2-8. I was extremely exhausted after it was all said and done but when I got home my day was totally made when I received the Best Gift EVER in the mail! My roommate and friend from AZ, Tricia, sent me my all-time favorite Starbucks treat.......LOWFAT BLUEBERRY GRANOLA OAT BARS!!!! I have been so sad that Starbucks does not carry them out here in FL so it was a wonderful gift when I got the package in the mail tonight!!!! What a great surprise!!! (It doesnt take much to excite me obviously!! haha!)