And now a word from our sponsor.

So today was my first day of work and I promise to tell you all about it, but first this public service announcement from me.

Tonight I’m hosting a little Mary Kay open house. I signed up to be a consultant last month so that I could get the discount, so basically I’m doing it for personal use. However in order to reach my quarterly minimums of wholesale I’m extending a discount of 25% on all items to everyone. This includes shipping but not tax.

My favorite items are the Timewise Miracle Set, Satin Lips, and Mineral Powder. I love the make-up too! It’s now all completely mineral based and the pigment is fabulous. You can see why I wanted the discount, huh? I’m a junkie!

If you would like any products let me know by Friday 9/26. The order will be placed on Monday.
Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Guess who is gainfully employed?

Well Internet, I got a job! After three interviews, two that were a pointless waste of my time, I was hired. Of course in the first interview (that was one of the pointless wastes of time) I was told there were two positions and I had one them. So therefore I guess the second interview, the only one that seemed legit, was a waste of time too. The lady who is the CEO of the company I’ll be working for is a bit flighty, to say it politely.

I’ll be doing memberships and marketing for a professional society geared toward medical professionals (how is that for a vague un-g00gleable description?). The blah side: flighty lady, not super sure about my actual role/responsibility, giving up my free time (aka enjoying being unemployed!), and not fitting into my work wardrobe. The bright side is I’ll work nine hour days Monday-Thursday and get every other Friday off (Yabba Dabba Doooo!), the position is close to home and to Little Brother’s school and the timing works out to pick him up at basketball practice (for now!), getting a paycheck and a larger one that before at that! This position pays a bit more than the job I was laid of from and the sucky job I quit.

All in all I don’t think it will be bad other than giving up my free time. I say so busy with errands, appointments, maintaining the house, etc. that I’m not sure when I’ll have time to work. Therefore I have a million things to do this week. I have errands to run, I must get estimates on my car, I’m making Little Brother a new duvet, shams, and curtain for his room (of course pictures will come!), LB has a few doctors appointments I need to wrap up, and my poor little laptop needs some attention to file pictures, music, and back up all of my documents.

I’m tired all ready! Maybe I should put off the job for another week.

Vacation Recap

Vacation was fabulous! Spending the week with the S’s made it even better!

The high points:

Our condo was fabulous! It was very upscale with granite, tile, etc. and had great use of space with everything we needed from kitchen cooking and dining to a washer and dryer. We also had a fabulous view of the beach and ocean. Our high-rise was just across the street from the beach but had an air conditioned walk bridge to take you directly beach front. On the beach was the Beach Club which included a pool, hot tub spa, and lazy river along with private access to the beach. There was also a pool and hot tub spa as well as an indoor pool on the condo side of the resort. And also a sauna, game room, and gym. It was superb!

The best part is that we had the entire place to ourselves. It was so nice, quiet, and relaxing! Because Hurricane Gustav scared everyone away from the Gulf Coast and Hurricane Ike was so uncertain, the place was desserted. There were days that we were the only people at the pool. We had the hot tub spa to ourselves every evening and on one windy day I took my happy little self and my happy little float and floated around the hot tub (they were rather large). The jets provided a great massage and the wind balanced out the warmth. Ideal!

The only downside was that I didn’t get around to reading all of the books. The lazy river had fountains and waterfalls which made it impossible to read while floating. However the island in the middle was perfect for a cooler of beer. The easy access to grabbing a cold one each time you floated around was worth it!

After Wednesday there was no beach. The ocean went all the way to the road! Wind began to pick up although it only rained for about a half hour one afternoon. The waves were huge! I can’t even describe them in words. We’re talking 15-20 foot waves as far as you could see. So many resorts were flooded and even a lane of the street. The bay side overflowed as well causing many businesses to shut down. We saw Coast Guard trucks heading to certain parts of the island to rescue people who couldn’t get out due to the flooding. It was rather incredible.

Although all of that happened the weather was still fine and dandy and we enjoyed the pool and hot tub anyway.

In other news we hit up a fun mini golf course that was a pirate island. This was terrific for me as I have a weird fascination with pirates. That’s right ye ol’ scallywag! Now walk the plank! Ahem! It was a really fun course with lots of details. Probably my favorite one ever. And also I thought you’d want to know that I got the most hole in ones. Yes I did indeed! However with all of my other hole in six I was second place.

We wanted to go deep sea fishing but with no one being there we couldn’t find a boat with enough passengers to sail. We settled for a dolphin cruise which turned out to be wonderful! It was a nice cruise with great island music and the go ahead to bring your own drinks. Sweet! The boys had beer and Mrs. S and I had made our own Sangria concoction which we drank out of nalgene bottles. We are classy broads indeed!

It seems we ate all week. My clothes agree! We tried a seafood buffet called Hazel’s which made us all want to blow chunks. It was seriously super duper fried week old food. The seafood bar was apparently only on weekends so it had minimal seafood but ample amounts of mini corndogs and spaghetti. Apparently Sunday isn’t the weekend to Hazel. J and I split a large seafood platter which wasn’t horrible, but was not the quality you expect when you’re at the beach.

We did find some delicious little places though! We ate at a little joint called Flippers after our dolphin cruise. It was the restaurant at the marina where we sailed. It was so tasty! I again had the seafood platter because I just have to taste a bit of everything. The service was fabulous and the atmosphere was so friendly and inviting. I think we made everyone in the place our friends before we left.

Lastly we ate at another marina restaurant called LuLu’s. It’s owned by Lucy Buffet, sister to Jimmy. I had the Mahi Tacos and they were superb! I also got a cute t-shirt on clearance for $10.95 as opposed too the price of $22.95. Proud? I thought so!

Two very interesting things happened on vacation. First, I got a fish stuck in my swimsuit! We were playing in waves and tossing a football (yes, we’re nothing if not Southern) on Monday when a big wave came along and I decided to just swim with it. I finally got back up and made my way out to J and the S’s. I felt something funny on the left side of my bum and reached around to check it out. I patted the edge of my swimsuit and sure enough…a little fishy (I’m guessing about 3 inches long) had been pushed in there by the force of the wave I’m assuming. I screamed and danced the funky cold medina and “shook out my panties” literally. I had everyone’s attention as they thought sure I’d been had by a band of jellyfish. We all got great miles out of the story. You know how fish stories grow and grow. I’m sure little fishy is telling his friend it was “this big!” Har dee har har har!

The second interesting thing would be that my car was hit. While sitting in the parking lot. Of only five other cards. And it was all by it’s little self. A guy had backed into it with his receiver hitch and there is a softball size hole in my trunk. He was very nice and stuck around with insurance info, etc. and I’m sure it will all be fine. But still…of all things that would happen to me!

I was talking about how I’m a prime example of Murphy’s Law (aren’t I always) and joked that I should perhaps lay low. Mrs. S’s response: “Hell no! I think you should buy a lottery ticket!”

That brings me to another great quote. We were all enjoying our drinks at the hot tub one night when J and Mrs. S got into a discussion about drinks.

J: How on earth were you a member of (our sorority) with Mrs. M and you don’t like beer?
Mrs. S: Well it wasn’t for the lack of trying!

Va-Va-Va-Va-Vacation!

This week has been crazy busy. I feel like I’m a hamster in one of those little wheels. I keep moving and moving but I’m not getting anywhere. I’ve had a million small errands to do in addition to preparing for vacation. Preparing for vacation takes a whole new meaning when you’re leaving a kid behind with a sitter. Not only am I getting J and I ready to roll but also making sure Little Brother and T3 have everything they need for the week.

Do laundry, clean the house, go to the grocery, run by the bank, take packages to post office, pick up items at Tarjay, write checks for school, change sheets, pack for vacation….

See what I mean?

Luckily packing for vacation should only take about 30 seconds as all I need is a toothbrush, swimsuit, and five books. Yes, five books. I’m nothing if not ambitious! The resort we’re staying in has a lazy river and I fully plan to read in it most every day. Well, except for the day I’m outlet shopping.

I’ll see y’all after next week!

Happy Birthday J!

Today is J’s birthday. He’s a ripe, old, 26. We celebrated by having dinner at DTGB and then chocolate éclair cake at home (all his choice!). He opened his presents and was blessed with lots of great goodies: a new Motorola Q phone, a charging station, an Ipod stereo system, Ipod accessories, a new Bible, a few clothes, gift cards, and a stack of checks from my grandparents. I’d say 26 is treating him well.

J deserved a great birthday more than anyone I know. He truly is the sweetest, most kind, generous, and caring man there is. He works so hard with a full time job, getting his MBA, taking care of me, and now raising a child that he only met a few years ago. By “raising” I mean he is fully involved. He’s not just giving Little Brother food and shelter, but is totally committed to being there for him, teaching and molding him, and ensuring that he has every opportunity as any other child. Like I said, he’s one of a kind.

Even beyond that J takes such good care of me. I might be a bit of a basketcase sometimes, I mean, maybe I am, just a little bit, and he totally deals with me. He loves, protects, supports, and encourages me. When I’m a bit, or a lot, OCD and go all into clean freak mode, he usually takes it with ease. When I get high strung and upset he can calm me down. When my head begins to spin and I get nervous and start too worry about random off the wall subjects, he keeps me grounded and calm. I’m not sure what I’d do without him!

Happy Birthday Crabcake! You truly are my better half.

Labor Day Weekend

I wouldn’t be Southern if I didn’t attend a kick-off-football-season bash! Saturday my friend JB and her husband hosted a fabulous soiree with a big pot of jambalaya. They were married this summer and excited to show off their lovely new house. All the guests brought appetizers and desserts to share and the buffet was delicious. Although the Vols didn’t play we did watch a few other good games.

Yesterday was spent cleaning out the garage with my hubby. Our poor garage often looks so nice then out of nowhere it’s a pigsty. We’ve decided to have a garage sale since we had to clean out an entire room for Little Brother. Now our garage looks pretty and clean and will be super clean when the huge pile of garage sale stuff is cleaned out.

Last night was the season opener for Tennessee! And it was sad. So very, very sad. I stayed up until midnight, which is far past my bedtime, and all for disappointment. Boo!