Destin Day 4

Yummy Popsicles - Victoria, Blaise and Erin (AKA: "The Beach Babes") Yummy Popsicles 2 -Caden, Hayden and Dylan (AKA "The Beach Boys")
Wowie WD! XOXO
My Beautiful Boy... Dylan

Day 3 in Destin

As exciting it has been relaxing on the beach... I haven't felt really well. My head had been hurting and I just felt "low". After I was awakened by the fire alarm this morning (Dad was cooking bacon for breakfast), I laid back down in the bed because my head was pounding. I laid there trying to figure out what I've been doing that is way different from my regular routine. It hit me... my morning routine of a Diet Dr. Pepper had been broken! Since I can't stand the taste of coffee, I get a large Diet Dr. Pepper and sip on it throughout the first half of the day... ahhhh caffeine and fizz... feels so good. I immediately threw my flip-flops on and walked down to the CircleK for a big-gulp size Diet Dr. Pepper. I feel better already! Click here for a few facts about my favorite beverage.

Real Men Wear Earrings

Yesterday afternoon, WD ran across the street to get Dylan a "cooler" boogie board for surfing. While there he picked up a huge pack of "jewelry" for the boys and men. I was laying down for a nap with Dylan when WD came in sporting his loop earring. I was shocked that he would get his ear pierced, but I thought it was sexy! He woke Dylan up to give him an earring too. That's when I realized they just slipped on the earlobe! Oh well, WD's not much of a rebel, but he's still sexy to me. Check 'em all out... (Double-click the photos for close-up of the earrings.)

Day 2 in Destin

After another day of sun, salty water and sand, we are "pooped". The sun was blazing hot. Even after numerous applications of sunscreen, all of the kids have bright red faces. Their little bodies darkened... Dylan reminds me of "Mowgli" from "Jungle Book"!

Destin 2007

We made it to Destin! This is a tradition started by my in-laws. They generously rent a condo/house for the entire family which includes Mom and Dad Boudreaux (of course), the 8 grandchildren (Erin, Dylan, Caden, Blaise, Titus, Victoris, Hayden and Zann), WD's 2 sisters and their spouses (Brooklyn, Zach, Brandi and Brett), WD's 2 brothers (Blane, Jamie, Blake and Sherry). It's a huge group, having huge fun! We just got here around 3PM, but we've already made a few memories. The first began with an "encounter" at McDonald's. A woman and man entered the restaurant from a side door and proceeded to the counter to order when everyone else in the place, including our huge clan, was waiting in a line that extended out of the restaurant. Blane assertively (and a bit loudly) announces that the people are rude. They ignored us, so Dad tapped the lady on the shoulder and explained we were all there first. She ignored us, then Brooklyn looked her in the eye and flat out said she was rude. WD even confronted the woman. The woman continued to stand at the counter and order despite being so obviously being called out about her rudeness. The only response we got from her was, "Leave me alone!" It was rather comical, but in the end the woman and her pansy-of-a-husband got their food first. It was worth the drama to get our food later... it made for an interesting lunch. Once at the beach-house, the kids rushed the beach. Erin rode a tube in the waves and Dylan tried to wake-board.

Bon Jovi

OMG! I was driving to work this morning listening to the radio (I don't do the iPod while driving), and a wonderful song came on the radio sung by a very familiar voice. I listened in hopes of at least catching the chorus where I hoped I could pick out the title. I just couldn't get it, so I "jotted down" a few of the lyrics in my Blackberry so that I could google 'em when I got home. I couldn't believe it, when I was able to find the song and discover who it was singing... Jon Bon Jovi! What a blast from the past... I remember jamming out to Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" and "You Give Love a Bad Name" on my "jam box". The great thing is that Jon Bon Jovi is still looking good (although his hair is a little big for my tastes today) and sounding GREAT! He just cranked out a new CD, "Lost Highway"... it included the song I heard on the radio, "(You Want to) Make a Memory". You got to check out the video here!

An Unexpected Traffic "Pleasantry"

While sitting in the dreaded afternoon I-10 traffic on my way home, I was able to get my mind off of it all by gazing at a faint, but still beautiful, rainbow that appeared on the horizon just as I was approaching the Siegan Lane exit. It's so funny that I actually had my camera with me and safely accessible to the driver's seat. It took over an hour to get home, but this broke up the awful monotony.

Drew Carey hosts "The PRICE is RIGHT"

How perfect is that for Drew Carey to take the job (I loved him in "Whose Line Is It Anyway?)! I was wondering who in the world could replace Bob Barker. I don't get to watch the game show now, but as a kid, I watched it daily! I spent many wonderful summers at my Mamaw Bell's camp/house on Lake Darbonne where we would start the days off watching "Price is Right". Of course Mamaw would watch from the kitchen while she began to prepare lunch. There was her typical line up: The morning news, "The Price is Right", then "Young and the Restless" (does that even come on anymore?). She would allow us to play "school", "bank", "library" or "store" in her back bedroom where we turned the room upside down and loudly listened to childrens' Christian tunes (on record albums!) by artists such as Joni Eareckson Tada and Tammy Faye Bakker! ("We" included me and all 7 of my girl-cousins along with my little sister.) Mamaw would cook a wonderful lunch, which we would all devour, then she'd begin to prepare for supper. Of course, we had an evening line up to watch after all 9 of us had baths in her single bathtub with Ivory soap (2 or 3 at a time!). We watched such shows as "The Barbara Mandrel Show", "Hee-Haw", "The Waltons" and of course the 10 o'clock news. I don't think my kids have ever heard of any of these shows, including "The Price is Right"!

Celebrity Look-Alikes

I was browsing the net and ran across this really neat "toy" at myheritage.com. Ya gotta try it for yourself!


You can also see me morph here!

$9.99 Feels Like a Million Bucks

It's amazing how some of the littlest things can cause me to feel a certain way. I picked up a pair of sunglasses for $9.99 and absolutely feel so cute when I wear them. I don't think there are many things that I could get for less than $10 that give me such a feeling.

I am very aware that I can be my own worst critic (check out the double chin in my pic...dare I list more?!?), so it is refreshing to see something "nice" about myself. Here are some things that make me feel great:

**big earrings**french manicure**Erin's smile**"good" mail**detailed pedicure**hearing a compliment about WD**freshly applied lipstick**new bra/panties**silver eyeshadow**extra in the paycheck**fresh sheets**waking to find I have an hour more to sleep**Dylan's laugh**little traffic**fitting into smaller size**dancing**clean house**unusual shoes**good-hair day**singing lyrics to favorite songs

Braces

Erin got her braces today. 9:30 we were at Dr. Kiebach's office. It took 2 and 1/2 hours... 4 brackets fell off and had to be adhered to her teeth again with a special type of adhesive. She never complained, but boy did it look uncomfortable with a huge nasty-looking mouth spreader. She looks more like a teenager with the braces although she's only 11!
Here is before and after photos:

Jen-itard

Well I've seen it all... one of our least favorite players, Jen, on BigBrother was required to wear a bright red unitard for the week! It was funny just watching her in the unitard, but then when WD mentioned that she looked like "Thing 1" from Dr. Seuss, it really became hysterical. When Jen was saying goodbye to Joe on his "vote-out" video, she said, "Hi this is Jen..." as if we couldn't see her on the video. Of course we were watching with Brooklyn and Zach. Zach was a riot... he added, "Yeah, we didn't know who she was without her 'Jen' shirt!" LMAO... guess you had to be here.

We are Big Brother Fans

As you know WD and I are enjoying the new season of Big Brother. Well it seems we may have caused some others to become "fans" of this crazy reality show. Brooklyn & Zach are now our Big Brother "buddies". The show comes on 3 times a week, so we chose Sunday night to hang out and watch it together while the kids play. I think we'll switch it to Thursday night though because that is when the "live eviction" takes place! This week Joe & Dick are up for eviction... I love Joe because he's so comically dramatic, but I would love to see Dick and his daughter Danielle work out their broken relationship. I don't won't to see either go... but one must. So much drama... if you want to get hooked, you can watch the previous episodes on the CBS website.

Got an IPOD

As a surprise, WD gave me an iPod (30GB) for our 14th anniversary. It was super sweet that he splurged on such a gift for me...especially in light of the fact that he so deeply wants one for himself. I had the shuffle (and so does he), but while mowing the lawn one day, I ruined my shuffle. I slipped it into my waist-band on the side of my shorts, without the protective cover, and ended up sweating which then seeped into the apparently sensitive device, ruining it... I know... "Whewww, gross!". Anyway, WD got the new iPod for me that allows podcasts (which I'm not really sure how they work yet), videos (downloaded Kelly Clarkson's video of "Never Again"), photos and of course lots of music. WD included a cute little card with the iPod that said, "Happy Anniversary! P.S. Don't "sweat" the iPod."

Artistic Dance

I was working with a friend of mine to prepare a slide show for the Teacher of the Year luncheon taking place Monday. The theme of the whole symposium, breakfast, luncheon and evening gala is "movies", "red carpet" and "Academy Awards" kind of stuff. My friend Terry found this really cool clip on YouTube where people actually practice meticulous moves to create different scenes from movies. The first is obviously the academy award statue, the second is the penguins from "Happy Feet", the bus scene from "Little Miss Sunshine" and the gun from "007" (at least I think that is what it is from). Amazing what the human body can do!

Got the right "equipment"?

One morning a husband returns after several hours of fishing and decides to take a nap.
Although not familiar with the lake, his wife decides to take the boat out.
She motors out a short distance, anchors, and reads her book.
Along comes a Game Warden in his boat.
He pulls up alongside the woman and says, "Good morning, Ma'am. What are you doing?"
"Reading a book," she replies, (thinking, Isn't that obvious?)
"You're in a Restricted Fishing Area," he informs her.
"I'm sorry, officer, but I'm not fishing. I'm reading."
"Yes, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment.
"I'll have to take you in and write you up."
"If you do that, I'll have to charge you with sexual assault," says the woman.
"But I haven't even touched you," says the game warden.
"That's true, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any moment."
"Have a nice day ma'am," and he left.

MORAL: Never argue with a woman who reads (or blogs). It's likely she can also think.

Kelly Clarkson's NEW CD rocks

While I was traveling out of town for work, I stopped by Target and picked up Kelly Clarkson's CD so that the grueling 8 hours I'd be stuck in the car would at least be passed with some new tunes. Her new CD, "My December" is great. This is a new style of music for her, though. You will have to love "rocking out" to enjoy it... somewhat like girl headbanging sounds, but it really is good. I wonder what Kelly was going through when she wrote the lyrics to "Never Again"... whatever man "burned" her is sooooooo hated. Listen to it here...

Here is another song, "Haunted"... the beginning is really cool; no your speakers aren't acting up.

Bikes are SOLD!

The bikes sold on EBay. Mine sold to a girl from Michigan (she's driving down next week) and WD's went to a guy from Fort Worth, Texas (he'll be here Saturday). I am very excited about the income it brought in so that we could work towards our goal of debt-free living, but I'm a little sad to see them go. In an effort to be positive here are some cool things about parting with our "toys":

• immediate "extra" income to pay off debts
• no more hours of detailing with chrome polish
• no more motorcycle insurance
• no more worries that WD's going to crash (although I'm the only one of the two of us who ever crashed ;-)
• no more stressing over kids in the garage hanging around them
• get to park my car in the garage again
• lots more room in storage area (front of garage) because all the bike gear will be gone
• no more guilt of having something sit that we aren't using

I am already dreaming of what my next bike will look like, but until then, I can breathe easier with less "stuff" and the extra income.

"Jiving" in a Marriage

If you have been married (or in a serious relationship) for any length of time, you probably can appreciate what I call "jiving". You know those times in your relationship when you feel like you are with your best friend, you are deeply in love and life is perfect. Well if you are familar with those times when you're "jiving", then you probably also know when you're not "jiving". It's those times in your relationship when one person is up and everything in life is great and the other one is... well, not having such a good day (week, month, etc). WD has recently acquired a way to diffuse those "non-jiving" times... he tries to make me laugh or smile. I was just working on my laptop, sitting in my recliner, totally ignoring him when I got this in an e-mail from him...

I laughed AND smiled.

Good Parents

As most of you know, we are selling the bikes. They both hit their reserve price today on Ebay and will be sold as of 4:00 tomorrow. It is really exciting to sell them within a week, but a little sad to such beautiful machines go. Dad Roddy has been keeping an eye on the bidding along with us. He and Mom Barbara were going out this evening so he asked WD to call him if the bikes hit reserve prices. When WD called him on his cell to give him the news, they were in a restaurant eating supper. The whole restaurant probably heard him holler when WD told him!
A little while after WD got off the phone, I was standing in the kitchen making homemade salsa thinking about Dad's reaction. It just amazes me how wonderful Dad and Mom are as parents (and grandparents)! You see, when good things happen to me and WD, both Mom and Dad are our biggest cheering section. They are truly happy, excited, sympathetic, mournful or whatever the situation calls for when things happen to us. I had to mention my observance of Dad (his true excited-ness for us) to WD. I told him, "I only pray that I am that involved and truly caring about Erin and Dylan when they become adults and have their own lives." WD noted that we would have to position ourselves to be this way... it doesn't just happen. I commented that I thought that what he said was true, but that I also feel like that it is just a part of who Mom and Dad are as parents and people!

We've come a long way!

I was sitting around the kitchen table chatting with WD and a few friends this evening. Somehow we got on the subject of cars... oh I remember, Brooklyn mentioned she couldn't drive a standard. That led to WD telling us the story of when he bought his red Mustang (about 20 years ago, when he had to get a friend to drive it home b/c he couldn't drive a standard), which then led to me pulling out a scrapbook page I did on the cars we owned over the years.

Our most memorable set of wheels was the "Hooptee". WD and I bought it for $500 after we arranged a deal with the owner... the car wouldn't start so WD agreed to replace the starter; if the car cranked, we'd buy it; if it didn't, then the lady who owned the car owed us for the starter. She agreed, the car started, and it was ours. It was a beaut...NOT! Baby blue (with a brown fender) 1983 Buick LeSabre. Keep in mind, we bought it in 1996 shortly before Erin was born. The thing was huge with velvety blue interior. Talk about knocking your pride down a notch or two. To add insult to injury, the car's horn malfunctioned one night... while everyone was asleep at our apartment complex, the horn just went off... this overpowering wail of a sound resonated across the complex. WD went outside to see what was up and everyone was out on their front balconies/doorsteps staring down at the "Hooptee". WD rushed downstairs, threw the door open and began beating on the steering wheel to no avail. Finally he threw the hood up and yanked the horn out from the wires to shut the car up! Hilarious now, but oh that was just one of the many embarassing moments with that car. On the up side... we paid $500 for the car, but when time came to trade it in, we got $1000! We have certainly come a long way since that vehicle.

You know you've had a good party when...

all the food is gone! We hosted a fabulous 4th of July party last night. Lots and lots of people (we estimated about 50 people showed up... some of which I had to introduce myself to because I had never met them!), lots of food (2 thumbs up for Dad Roddy's brisket and Wayne's oh-so-perfect smoked chicken), lots of fireworks (I ended up making 6 ice bags for 6 different people who got burned/injured :-()


I hope everyone who came had a great time and that no one left hungry. For those of you who left early (we all had to go to work today), we ended up hanging out until around midnight. Notes to some of attendees:
*Connie... you may want to take your husband home WITH you at the next party. He nearly caused WWIII with David and the fireworks!
*Rob & Jen... we promise we won't throw such out-of-control parties next time (Todd will go home with Connie :-) Keep doing a great job with your girls... with Emery's crush on Dyl, she may just end up as part of our family one day.
*Ellen & Chen... it was good to meet you... maybe we can get together soon in a "calmer" setting to get to know you better.
*Jill & Irvin... you fit in with us just perrrrfectly!
*Mom & Dad... we really do take care of our kids... it's not everyday we let them run around barefoot eating junk food, with burning fireworks ;-)
*Brooklyn & Zach... hope you join us for more of our parties (so what if there is about 10 years difference... partying with you is so much fun... hope you feel the same).
*Justin & Heather... you have great family (Dennis & Shauna were so cool to chat with).
*Darra & Stacie... party on!

When will school start?

I can't wait for school to start back up in the fall. Not for Erin & Dylan, but for me. I finally took the initiative to apply for grad school. After many years of thinking about it, and after many encouraging words from WD, my sister-in-law Brandi and others, I applied. I have been accepted into Northwestern State University's graduate program for a master's in Educational Technology Leadership. I have always enjoyed technology and to be able to incorporate it into my career is totally fascinating. Since I will still be working full-time, I will only be taking 6 hours per semester. I know that when I was doing my undergrad work, I would take 21 to 24 hours during the fall & spring semesters, so maybe once I see how much work these courses will take me, I perhaps will be able to bump it up to 9 hours per semester. Either way, it looks like I'll be able to have the advanced degree within 3 years. I enjoy school so if this isn't too difficult (to work, be a mom, wife and student simultaneously), I may continue to take courses even after the master's degree. For now, I guess I better focus on getting starting. Go NSU Demons!

Big Brother is COMING!

Most days it is quite obvious that God put me and WD together to compliment each other's differences... there is an endless list of these, but one of the things we share in common is our love for reality TV. I had to giggle a little this afternoon when I got an e-mail at work from WD announcing that "Big Brother" was starting its new season this Thursday night. I was so pumped and could tell by his e-mail that he was thrilled to have something to watch on TV again since our regular shows' seasons have ended. I decided to check out the bios for the upcoming "house guests" to see which ones I predicted me & WD would favor. Strictly based on the bios on the CBS website, I anticipate that I will favor Jameka. She has some great favorite movies and music! I bet we could hang out for hours based on this similarity alone. I bet WD will vote for Jessica. She is a cute, blond, beer-drinking, country-music-listening girl. Despite the fact that she says she enjoys girly-girl things like cheerleading and shopping, I bet she will rank high on WD's list. It should be an interesting season this summer. Big Brother producers are working on some new tricks to keep the show interesting... expect the unexpected!

Cool Grass!

Before going to bed, I just have to brag on WD. I had been having a "down" day, not many smiles here. WD called me outside this evening to the patio. When I stepped out the door, I found that he cut our backyard at an angle... this is the way I love the lawn to look and we always do the front yard this way. It takes a lot of hard work to do this, so I asked him, "Why?" He replied, "Just to see you smile."

Bikes listed on EBay!

Well I finally did it... I am selling the motorcycles on Ebay. This was a little scary for me to try to list items that are "high dollar" compared to what I've sold before. WD spent over 6 hours detailing them out yesterday (got the sunburn & soar legs to prove it). We took photos today. I spent a couple of hours prepping the listings, then called Dad Roddy for him to come review the listings before posting. We expect them to sell and to fetch a good price... a step closer to becoming debt free ;-)
Here is the listing for my bike.
Here is the listing for WD's bike.

Yesterday when I picked up Erin & Dylan, we enjoyed a visit with Aunt Shirley over lunch. (Silly Aunt Shirley left her cell phone under the table at the restaurant. It was discovered after she had already gotten on the road when Uncle Nathan called only to be greeted by a customer at the restaurant.) The kids were little chatterboxes about all of the adventures they enjoyed with Aunt Shirley & Uncle Nathan while in the country... 4-wheeler riding, two trips to go-cart park, plus lots more. Dylan got his first bee-sting and Erin has a case of poison ivy. All in the name of fun. Here's a photo of the three of them:

We went to the annex service at HPC this morning. Loved listening to Stovall Weems' sermon last week, but it was good to hear from Pastor Dino this week. He kept it simple this week... there is only one way to heaven and Jesus is that way... so simple Erin could follow his sermon ;-) I'm so thankful that Erin & Dylan are getting spiritual influence from church, because I haven't felt very spiritual lately.

We are getting pumped up for our upcoming 4th of July party! WD is expecting nearly 40 people to show up, but I suspect that we'll have a few back out at the last minute. We will see. At any rate, I can't wait to hang out, pop fireworks and enjoy our friends, neighbors & family that do show up! Here's a recent photo of me and a couple of friends at Dylan's end-of-the-season baseball party. I'm so glad to have FUN friends (see Stacie, me & Jill below)! Hopefully our party will be as much fun as that one.