Unofficial Godparents

On Tuesday the Graham family brought home a new member of the family. Chad's parents were truly suffering from the loss of their bird Picasso so to help the healing process they brought home a new little girl. Her name is Gigi. I think Chad and I are the unofficial Godparents of this little girl. We LOVE her! I have always wanted a little bird as a friend for Jack but I haven't got Chad to say yes yet. One BIG bird is a lot of work. But, I have always wanted a green-cheeked Conure. Gigi is a powder-blue Quaker. I have heard a lot of things about Quakers and it hasn't always been good. But whoever raised Gigi did a great job because she doesn't bite, at all! We have been over there several times to play with her. She is so cool. I think Chad is starting to change his mind. Oh well, I don't think another bird is in our stars right now but I am happy being the unofficial god-mother. : )
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Freddie their green-winged macaw was very jealous when we were all playing with Gigi, especially when we had the camera out. So I took a few shots of of him. Chad gave him plenty of attention, they played peak-a-boo for a while. Chad's parents made a little memorial area for Picasso, it is very sweet and turned out really pretty. I painted a bird that they bought from the store to make it look like Picasso. It's very sad knowing she's gone, and she was so young. But we will remember her forever and we will see her again very soon. It's amazing the holes that pets leave behind when they die. What would we do without them?

Take my way, it's the highway, that's the best

Get your kicks on Route 66. Well, it winds from Chicago to L.A. more than 2,000 miles all the way. ~ Chuck Berry "Route 66"

Exactly one week from today we will be packing our things for summer vacation. I already have my suitcase out and when I think of those essential things I throw them in, abathing suit aFrisbee acamera akites atanning oil Well, you get the point. Those things that you remember when you are already 90 miles away from your house that you meant to pack but you forgot. I always set my suitcase out a week before and I have never forgotten a thing. There is one thing for sure I have to have, my camera. My family has pretty much given up taking pictures because they know I will take 1,000 good ones. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't document all the memories we've made together. We're going to eat at Paula Dean's restaurant, what if she comes to visit, if I didn't have my camera, no one would ever believe us! I am not banking on seeing her but if we did, I would definitely have a picture!

Before we go, I have to say goodbye to my baby. Since Chad's parents lost their baby "Picasso" I think I hold Jack a little closer. Maybe because he calls me mommy now, he's 5 years old, he has been ours since he hatched and now he can say "momma." It would break my heart if something ever happened to Jack. He's supposed to live 80-100 years so maybe that means he will outlive me. It makes me feel better than he has a great babysitter, his rightful "mommy" Vicki. She's the one who fed him and weened him until he was 9 months old. He loves to go over there because there are so many other birdys. I can't imagine him staying anywhere else.

In one week we will "motor west" or motor east really. Chuck Berry says "motor west." Well, we will motor south and then east to Hilton Head Island to relax and play in the ocean God created for us. We usually vacation in late June so going in August has made the summer really fly by for me. I don't know if we will make it to the beach next year because we have so many trips lined up. In March we're going to Texas for my uncle Andy's wedding, and in April we're going to Las Vegas with my mom and dad. We might be broke by the time beach time rolls around. Oh well, I will take 1,000 pictures for you all to see and I will make a scrapbook too so we can look back and remember when we saw Paula Dean in person, haha. I let you know if that happens. : )

Special Delivery

Yesterday I got a call from my mom about a package my "Bojo (grandmother)" had sent. I thought for sure it's the wedding dress she's been making for me, but it wasn't, it was even better than that. She had been through all of her jewelry and sent us a good bit of what she had. I was so excited. My sisters had already been through it so I had free reign of what was left. I think jewelry that belonged to your family members is way more special to wear than buying new jewelry. Whenever I put a certain piece on now I can always remember my Bojo.

There was a good bit to chose from, I thought. Gold, Silver, it was all pretty. There was one special piece that I will cherish forever, a piece specifically for me. It is a heart-shaped birthstone pendant on a gold chain. It is so special, I will remember it and wear it forever. I also thought I had lost a piece that she had already given me; a ring that she gave me at her wedding, for being in it. She had a piece for all of us girls. I looked all over the house last night. I have a huge jewelry box I keep all of my jewelry in but it wasn't there. Then something clicked in my mind, and it was right where I left it. It was in a special place; a mahogany turtle box that a friend had brought back for me from Hawaii. Right where I would remember it, I thought. I hadn't worn it in a while, but I am wearing it now. You see, it's the little things in life that mean the most.

Waldhorn

"What's your name baby? Mel-vin... I'm not desembling, that's my Hebrew name. I'm Galaxia, that's my German name..." ~Scene from Anger Management

What would I like for my German name? Probably just Beth. We went to see Bruno yesterday (no comment on that subject). There was actually a movie playing at AMC Concord Mills called I Love Beth. It was just Chad playing a joke, he had them write that up there for a few bucks, I should have taken a picture, naaa just kidding. But that would have been really sweet. I guess there really is a movie called I Love Beth. I think Beth will be my German name.

Ever since Chad and I have been together we have talked about traveling to Europe, but where we want to go first has changed probably ten times. I know we want to go to Italy but that is one of the most popular traveled by millions of other Americans. More recently we have talked about going to Eze, Monaco, and Provence, in France. Or to Copenhagen in Denmark. But... the one that follows closely behind Italy would be Germany. We have always wanted to go to Germany. We worked a puzzle of a German castle and ever since then we have always said we will go see that castle in person one day. It is called Neuschwanstein castle in the Bavarian Alps of Germany. So pretty...

Just so you know, we're not going anytime soon, or not that I know of. We have been doing date nights together since we spend most of our time at the gym during the week. Our date nights usually consist of dinner and a movie. We have vowed to eat at a new reataurant that we had never been to, every week. A few weeks ago we passed by a German restaurant. You don't see to many of those around. You normally see Italian, or Mexican but German? So we haven't said anything about it since then. Chad looked it up online to see if it was still even open. It is, and it is called Waldhorn. The food is all German, and all written in German. This is going to be interesting. I am very excited to try something new and even more excited to have a stein of beer. We are going to take pictures while we're there and I will post a blog about it. I will let you all know how it is. We're going on Saturday. For fifty bucks you can have a real German meal, a stein of German beer, and an authentic German dessert. Sounds like fun to me!

Christmas in July

I can hardly believe it is ornament time already. I have been working at Hallmark for 7 years. This will be my eighth Christmas with Hallmark. The infamous Dream Book has been out for a few weeks now and you can access it at Hallmark.com. There are a lot of good ones out this year. You can start a new series, I believe there might be 4 to chose from. But no Twilight ornament. I have been trying to tell Hallmark it would be a big seller, especially with New Moon coming out in November. Even without it there are some great ornaments coming out. This year they have decided to do a Chevy Chase's Christmas Vacation ornament that I am sure will be a hit; it is Uncle Eddie's RV, it makes noise if you can believe it. Also this year's Gone With The Wind ornament, "Frankly My Dear," is also going to be a sure hit.

My great friends and I will be fighting the crowds on Saturday morning. Tonight we are all having a cookout at Melanie's house. We are going to Electric Boogie and play some games. 6 months out of the year we celebrate Christmas so what better occasion to get together and have some drinks than before we fight the Christmas masses? I fear that one day I will miss these days at Hallmark so I am going to try and enjoy them while I am here.

If you are near a Hallmark store this weekend, stop by and check out the 2009 Keepsake Ornaments! Some are guaranteed sellouts, get them before they're gone!

God Bless the USA

I had to go into work on Saturday, "The 4th of July." It seemed kind of silly being open but we were open. Occasionally we would get a stray customer from Harris Teeter waiting on their husband to get the car and we saw a couple of our frequent customers. Our numbers weren't as good as we had hoped but the day was nice.

Chad and I had been looking forward to the cook-out my parents were hosting. At four o'clock we hurried over to make sure and not miss any of the festivities. The pool was warm, coming up on 90 degrees but the breeze made it a little cool. There were a lot of people over and plenty of food to go around; and drinks... I probably had a few too many. The girls had it out for the guys, when the water guns didn't work we used them as beating devices. I think we won. My parents yard keeps getting prettier and prettier as the plants grow in. Chad and I were going to go to the concert in downtown Matthews but decided to stay with everyone else at my parents "Oasis." We had food, we had drinks, we had a refreshing pool, music, friends, and we had fireworks. What more did we need? We had it all right in my parents' back yard.

Our dinner was excellent. We had a choice of hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken breasts, chicken wings, home-made coleslaw, potato chips, and all kinds of complements. But the best came later. I am trying my best to eat healthy. Chad and I count our calories everyday. Today was our cheat day. My sister made 2 key-lime pies. But my favorite was the banana ice cream my dad was making. I kept a close eye on it for him. It was a very nice evening, candles lit, bugs away, and laughter around the pool. What more could I ask for on a wonderful holiday weekend. I couldn't prepare myself for what came next.

Chad and I were seated away from the action with my parents. They were discussing "future" vacations. Chad and I have been contemplating going somewhere on the west coast like Oregon wine country or maybe just to Texas to visit my family. We hadn't really decided on anything because it is still so far away. My parents have been discussing their options. My mom usually goes to a "User Group" conference twice a year for work. They went to Orlando just a couple of months ago for one. Well the meeting next year is being held in April in Las Vegas. Chad and I would never plan a vacation by ourselves to Las Vegas. It's far away, crowded and expensive. Plus we've heard that it is more fun when you are with a group. My dad said they never would either but with my mom's company paying for it, how could you argue? They went a year or so ago and my dad was by himself a lot of the time because my mom was in meetings. So he wondered this year if we might go with them. We haven't set anything in stone but it is definitely a possibility. My mom needs to make sure that her company wants her to go first. But if we went we would be staying at the Mandalay Bay hotel. That doesn't mean anything to me but I looked it up just to see and it looks really nice. It is definitely something to think about and something to consider. I guess we will keep it in mind. I wouldn't mind seeing Cirque de Soleil and our hotel has a shark reef aquarium, hmmm? I guess we will have to wait and see. It is a lot of money and still far in the future.

We had a great weekend with our family and friends. We closed the evening with our own fireworks display. This year we didn't buy any we let everyone else have the pleasure. They picked some good ones for sure! I was probably a little to tipsy to be playing with fire but I lit quite a few of them. I liked the strobe light ones, they blinded everybody! The had a few mortars, I was afraid because they were lighting them a little close to the trees. We found a few sparklers that I had bought last year. My mom and Emily twirled them for me so I could get a cool effect with my camera. It is almost more fun setting them off yourself rather than hassling with a crowd to go see them somewhere else. We had a blast. They bought a value pack in South Carolina that had lots of fun little ones that I had never seen before. They did a good job. The best ones we ever set off were at Myrtle Beach a few years ago. I think we spent $300. I don't know if anyone remembers but us. Chad's brother Andy was there helping him light them. That was a fun trip that year. What a great reason to set off fireworks! Our Independence Day, where would we be today if we never declared our Independence, hmm?

I took a few more pictures before I retired for the night. It was really late but it doesn't look that way in the pictures because I has a very very slow shutter speed to let in a lot of light. Pretty Neat!

I have plenty of help

“I believe you should live each day as if it is your last, which is why I don't have any clean laundry, because, come on, who wants to wash clothes on the last day of their life?” ~Author Unknown

I wish I could say that myself but I can't. I am off today so unfortunatly I have to clean house! It always feels so nice having everything so clean so I am just going to look forward to that moment when my house is clean. Good thing I have lots of help. I really don't know what I would do without Jack, vacuuming for me, and folding clothes especially. I wish he would learn to clean his own area. Yeah Right! Well at least he gives me the encouragement I need to clean house. I guess it's more, "hurry up mom so we can play." I kind of say that to myself too, "hurry up Beth, so we can play!" Isn't it lovely growing up and having to clean up after yourself. Remember in high school and even college when you said, "I can't wait to live on my own!" This is what you get when you live on your own, clean, clean, clean! Oh well! Life, here I come!