"The Pact"

"The Pact"

It's something I got from this very cool couple that I worked with in Las Vegas. I'll never forget Kim telling me about it.

I was hanging out with her one night when hubby was out of town and she was telling me about another couple she knows and this is how the conversation went:

Kim: Yeh..she broke the "pact."

Dee: What do you mean? What's 'the pact"??

Kim: You know - she got fat. Me and hubby have a pact that we will never get fat. We had the discussion before we got married and decided that we would always make staying lean and being fit a priority.

Dee: Oh WOW!! that's awesome!! I'll be sure to have that same talk with my future husband.

Well, I'm happy to say that I DID have that talk with hubby and that's why I am starting the cabbage soup diet on Sunday. I've done this before and it works. Read about it here.

No wine, no cheese, no crackers. It's DETOX time and time to make sure I'm honoring our pact!

Swimsuit Talk

The big swimsuit debate.....
One piece versus bikini.

I told Brad earlier this summer that I need/want to buy a one piece. ESPECIALLY after I tubed in a bikini!

His reaction: 'no way grandma!!'

I know I'm not a Mommy yet(meaning..wrestling with kids on the beach) but seriously -- shouldn't every girl have a one piece hanging around??
I don't think one like this looks too grandma - do you?

I'm not showing you gals/guys these next few photos because I think I have a 'rockin' body -- because we know that's not the case.

I have several different swimsuits as I'm sure you all do. I have a tankini but haven't worn it in over a year so I bought this more modest swimsuit for a friend's wedding a few years ago. I did this because I wanted to be sure my girls would be secure in front of family.

It's a Tommy Bahama suit that fits snug and I like it. Brad on the other hand??
WOW..
Every time I attempt to wear it he shrieks.
'Just AWFUL!'....
So, I've quit wearing it around him. Interesting huh? I still like it.
Instead Brad prefers this pink swimsuit instead and others that I have. He thinks it's 'less grandma' than the Tommy Bahama one.

What do you gals/girls think? Do you prefer a one piece, tankini, something with more support, or just plain sexy?

Again, I'm not some six pack ab chick looking for thongs...but maybe you are?

Thoughts..comments??

He's a Salty Dog!

First off I have to give big 'ups' to my girl Homesick Cajun who gave my blog a makeover!!! Thank you so much!!

Not much going on this weekend just a trip to the lake to get our dog Buddy back from the in-laws.
When we got there they had given him a Salty Dog Cafe bandana! I heart The Salty Dog!! If you're unfamiliar it is a waterfront restaurant in an area called Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

I bought the pooch a navy blue one a few years ago but now he has this sort of tie-dyed one too! Thanks Grammy!

In other news it's been hotter than h-ll here lately!! WHEW! While I'm ready for fall I'm really bummed summer is almost over too! My nieces go back to school in Louisiana on August 6th!! Can you believe??

I think kids should not start school until after Labor Day. What do you think?

I hope everyone had a GREAT weekend!

Be The One

Short post today but a powerful message. Go check out my new blogging friend NOLA Girl for a video that will make your Friday.
TGIF!

All in the Family

The state of North Carolina seems to be 'All in the Family' these days. In the next 2-years a majority of both my family and hubby's family will live in the Tarheel state.

Seems crazy to me. I never in a million years would have thought that I would be living here. In fact, when I recently looked back at my senior scrapbook from high school I had written that I thought in 20 years I would be living in Baton Rouge. Don't get me wrong - I love BR but would not want to live there anymore.

So, this post is about news I received today. My 94-year old grandmother 'Maw Maw' is moving to Charlotte!

A few months back she fell in her house and broke her femur. Since then she has been living in a rehab facility and the doctor said she could not go back to living alone in her home.
SOOOO.. she's moving to the Queen City to live with my cousin and her husband.

I never in my wildest dreams thought that Maw Maw would actually leave Hot Springs, AR but she is!! That means we'll get to see her more!

Right now -- all of Brad's immediate family lives in and around Charlotte and soon mine will too as not only Maw Maw is moving here but in 2012 my parents are moving to Eastern NC!
(BTW - this picture is CIRCA 2006)

The only ones left to move to the area? My brother and his kids. THAT I think will never happen.

They heart Baton Rouge way too much.

That's it for today kids!

Saying Yes

I've done it for years and I'm doing it again. Signing up, volunteering for all sorts of 'stuff'. I always get excited and sign myself up, then panic! But I always seem to pull it off.

Let's take a look back:

High School: I was in pageants and typically ones that had you doing a community service project. At age 15 I planned an entire fashion show luncheon to raise money for a school in town that served developmentally disabled.
I sometimes forget about this until my Mother reminds me. Flyers, ticket sales, getting the store to participate, finding models, entertainment, the venue, the mneu etc. WHEW!

College: See above. Not only was I an officer in my sorority but I was chairman of our Jazz Fashion Show Luncheon for 2 years in a row.

After College: In the 13-years since I graduated from college I have been involved in Jr. League, my sorority alumni group(in every city I've lived in), and the LSU Alumni group(in every city I've lived in.), not to mention my volunteer work with the USO.
In most of these I've been an officer and/or volunteered to head up a committee, etc.

BUT.. in the last 5-years I've taken a break at signing up for leadership positions because -- to be honest-- I had enough going on with work.
I was not only doing a full-time job but also producing a show for a Senator then a show for PBS and both had me in a scram to books guests, etc.
About the time I stopped working on that show, I started planning a wedding which had me scramming around again.

Now that the wedding is over and I'm catching my breath what do I do? Volunteer for a LEADERSHIP role with the Jr. League! YIKES!!!!!
WTH was I thinking??
It's a role that has me producing a video and getting items ready for our 85th anniversary this year! All within a month!

I was talking to Brad about it last night and asked him why I always say yes to these things?

His response? "You like the 'rush'."

I thought about it and he's right. I think I enjoy the adrenaline rush of it all. I know that's why I spent so many years in TV news. I liked the 'rush', deadline part of it all.
Am I the only one like this??
Anyhoo...I'm semi-panicked with my new role but at the same time I know it will be fine and it will all go down.
Happy Humpday!

The Latest Scoopage

Busy times kids..
First things first:

* I hit a bird on the way into work this morning and it still has me FREAKED out! I saw it and almost wrecked but didn't think I actually hit it until I got off on my exit and could see its wings in the grill on my JEEP.
I took it in to an auto shop here in downtown to get it out. They called me a few minutes ago to say the bird was still half alive! THAT REALLY freaks me out. I can't imagine having tried to get it out on my own.

* Twitter -- I'm really getting into it. I'm following celebrities and it's sorta interesting. Plus, by checking it on your phone you can keep up on current events if you follow CNN, etc.

* John Mayer and Train concert -- we went Friday night and it was a good time and good show. Train was amazing and sound just like they do in their recordings and John Mayer rocked it out too. Interesting part of John's show? He played with a different guitar for every song?

I wonder if he does this for charity? A very laid back show with tons of teeny boppers and families.

I didn't take a lot of pictures because John was on stage after dark and my camera sucks for night pictures.

Saturday morning we got up and headed to the beach for a long weekend. Oak Island, south of Wilmington, NC to be exact.

One of our first sightings after finding our spot on the beach? This cart.... Brad is convinced this is the perfect business for a college kid.
What do you think? I bet they make good money?

While the slushi cart had Brad intrigued I was caught up with the current fascination with these silly bands.
I never even heard of them until I had a few executives here at work that had them on. Is this a new thing? The new jelly bands of the 80's?
Everyone had them on. I was tempted to give in but seriously? I don't have kids and I would just look stupid.

We enjoyed dinner on the sound...

Where I spotted some gators. HAHA! Not really.. but I thought since my last post was on gators it would be funny.

And.. Brad spotted this boat just for me :)

The weekend was spent with old and new friends. This is Kelli's brother and SIL who live in Raleigh. Nice people and they're expecting their first baby in December.

Good times indeed but too short.

My only problem with the beach? Seagulls...............UGH..ARGH...I swear I no more walked out of the house with a sandwich and I was nearly attacked! They stalk people on the beach who they think even might have food.

Annoying indeed!

Happy Tuesday!

Gator at the Beach

Check this picture out!! This is for real! You can read the story here. The crazy part is -- my MIL emailed all of us about it before it hit the news. They've been in Hilton Head, SC all week with friends.

Here’s the email my MIL sent earlier this week:

“We head down to the beach today to hook up with B and S and see everyone out of the water and standing on the shore.

The life guards were screaming for everyone to move back because there was an alligator in the water.

They bring in the gator catchers and one guy with a baited pole walks out in the water up to his shoulders (insane), another guy gets on a jet ski to herd the gator toward the shore, and another guy stands on the shore with a pole and a noose.

It took them 2 hours to catch and wrap it up and then one guy flips it up over his shoulder and carries it off the beach. The sucker was 9 feet long! I always think about sharks and now I will have to add gators to my fear list!!

Oh, when they had whistled everyone out of the water, S said that she could see one head in the water facing away from the shore. It was B who was facing away from the shore and he doesn’t hear well. When he finally turned around and started out, the entire crowd cheered him."

Can you say freaky??? Only in the Carolinas?? We're headed to the beach Saturday and I will totally be cautious!

Da' Hills

It's over....who watched? Yes, I'm one of those people who stayed up late to watch it all and guess what? Brad did too.

He revealed to me last night that he really liked the show too. So what did you think? I kind of feel like I did after I found out that James Frey's A Million Little Pieces was fiction but at the same time I knew this show wasn't totally real anyway.

What I do know to be real is that Speidi really has gone crazy. You can read more about what the producer says about the situation at this blog.
What do I think has happened to these two? Fame...

They've gotten so caught up in themselves. Then after Heidi's plastic surgery they just kinda lost it. I don't think she knows who the hell she is and they're both just hanging on like threads on any fame they continue to have now that The Hills is over. As for whether Speidi's divorce is real? I would say no.

BTW..have you seen how Spencer showed up to the finale?? Crazy fool. It was Perez's idea.

I did notice on Twitter today though that Brody must still talk to King Spencer because he tweeted that he should have been there.

And my thoughts on Brody? He's a total hottie and I would totally hook up with him. Brad's thoughts on Brody...he's a cool dude but if Brad could trade places with any one celeb it would be Leo DiCaprio?

Why you ask?? Quote from Brad: "Brody slays trash and my boy Leo slams the class A supermodels, he has people like Tom Brady picking up his scraps!!:

LOL!

Happy Humpday!

Wedding 'Stuff' Everywhere...

Yes, another chance to show a wedding picture many of you have not seen. This is after we signed our marriage license in our ‘holding’ room.
This time next week we will have officially been married ‘5 months’. WOOHOO!!

In honor of that today’s topic has to do with the ‘stuff’ I have left over after the wedding. As many of you have already read – I donated my dress to a breast cancer charity so I don’t have to worry about storing it anywhere. BUT..I took a look into one our guest bedroom closets the other day and was disgusted.

Unorganized and two big bags and a box of wedding ‘stuff’ in there. It looks like HOLY HELL! You know – the unity candles and holders, the guest book, the place card holders, the cake knife set, the garter, etc..etc…
I gave both parents their wedding pictures that I had framed and I’ve been working on putting all the cards we received into scrapbooks so both of those things are done.

What in the world am I going to do with all this other junk? Being the ‘throw away’ artist that I tend to be – I would love to toss it? But.. I know I would regret it.

I’ve thought of maybe getting a trunk/hope chest(is that what they call them?) and putting the items and other keepsakes in there? I’m sure Brad will ‘LOVE’ that idea. LOL!
Not sure where I would even put it.
Ideas??? Suggestions??

It's Sunday

It's Sunday which is always a bummer to me because I know Monday is right around the corner. In college -- I HATED Sundays because of the same thing but mainly also because I knew I had to spend most of the day studying and doing homework.

A couple of years ago Sundays were fun because me and 2 of my friends decided to do 'dinner night'. We would rotate houses and when it was your week you would cook, provide drinks, etc. It was so fun because we would try new recipes and it gave you something to look forward to. We stopped doing it though because of some drama. Bummer....

So, this Sunday I've been on a The Hills kick and have now been watching episodes for 3 hours. Can you believe?? I haven't watched the show this year and said I wouldn't.....guess I lied? Brad is downstairs watching World Cup.

Moving on....
our cookout was a success. 12 people, tons of food and drinks and nearly everything was eaten!! I made goat cheese stuffed tomatoes and they were a hit!
I've never done them before but got the idea when a co-worker brought in a bunch of cherry tomatoes in from her garden and no one wanted them.

I didn't take a lot of pictures but here's one of my and a few of our friends.

BTW --- back to the Hills....anyone know what's up with Heidi and Spencer? I read that they're seperated but any other scoop on them??

Random Thoughts Thursday

Not a whole lot going on around here but a lot of random thoughts. Here we go:
* I'm over the Lebron hype I just hope he stays in Cleveland because that's where my bestie Kathleen lives and it he helps their economy.

* Traffic driving into work this week has been light. I'm thinking because of the 4th people are vacaying. Makes me want to vacay. Ahh..just one more week until I'm at the beach for a long weekend.

* I'm trying to get my friend Mark to get me tickets to see the musical Mary Poppins. The show is playing here on my birthday weekend and I think it would be perfect. I mentioned it to Brad and can you guess what his reaction was? 'Umm..you're going to have to find a friend to go with you.'
MP is my all-time favorite Disney movie.

* My best friend/maid of honor is having to leave Tampa and move back to Dallas and they.are.BUMMED.
They are big beach people and hubs is a HUGE Gator Fan and they're having to leave both behind.
But..on the bright side -- maybe I'll actually make it to the Big D and meet a lot of you blog friends!?

* Over the weekend my MIL gave me around 20 fresh tomatoes and I made my sauce again with them. Can you say yummy to my tummy! We made a chicken parm with it last night and we're once again wowed at how good it was!

* We're having a cookout at the house this weekend. Very last minute decision but I'm super excited because 12 people have already RSVP'ed YES! I'm open to any fun side dish recipes so send them my way!

* I got my Electrolux serviced last night. I think they are one of the best vacuums around. Up until 3-years ago when I bought my new one I was still using my parents old one from the 80's! Brad think it's retarded how much I paid for it but oh well! That was one of my big purchases when I was single!

* My cousin Kendra had a baby boy yesterday and named him Bentley. Different indeed but it's growing on me. Brad likes it a whole lot.

Well, that's it! It's Thursday and almost the weekend!! What's up with you gals/guys?

Stick Family Decals

My cousin posted a status update a few months back talking about banishing stick family decals. I have to say that I agree.

Sorry to offend those of you who have them but I think they are downright cheesy and I can't ever see hubs allowing such gayness on the back of our vehicle.

I can see school stickers and what not -- but this I totally cannot stand.
What are your thoughts??
Happy Humpday!

4th of July Recap

Super busy here now that the holiday is over but a quick post and pictures from our weekend. We stayed up at the in-law's lake house instead of coming back to Charlotte.

The weather was perfect -- 80's, sunny with a breeze. We spent the entire weekend outside playing in the water, boating and sitting on the dock sipping a few.

Our usual pontoon shot.

The kids(niece and nephew)enjoyed playing in the water and being outside too!

That is.....until you get a splinter in your foot because you're walking around without your Crocs on!!

LOL!! Classic picture! I've seen a few that my parents took of me back in the day that resemble this.

Not having it.. oh.. well.. the splinter stayed.

Later on the little monkeys got cleaned up and ready for some 4th of July action!!(July 3rd style). Buddy did too(see in the back)..but he was more about sniffing at that moment.

Then.. on the actual '4th of July' I took it upon myself to ride the intertube behind the ski boat. Keep in mind........

This was the first time I've done this since probably high school or college. Good times fo sho..

BUT... between getting thrown all over the place on a tube + riding the jet-ski for an hour in rough water = A VERY SORE DEE!

I am so not young anymore. I could barely get out of bed yesterday. Maybe I need to workout more?

Getting some love from Paige...

Love from Buddy...

American style dinner. Hot dogs and burgers..

And later.. shooting off more fireworks. The kids were a little scared here and there.

Late night boat ride to see fireworks. I might get in big trouble if certain people were to see me with this Hokie Jersey on. That's okay -- we root for both - LSU and VT in our house!

How was your 4th of July??

Ready For the 4th! And..One Year Ago

It's almost the Fourth of July!! YAY!! Those who have been reading my blog for the past year know that it's my favorite holiday!

I looked back at some of my favorite 4th memories here last year.

But..it was as soon as I wrote that post that this happened just as the 4th holiday weekend got started.

So, it's certain that this will ALWAYS be my favorite from now on out.

Why do I love the holiday so much? Well, it's America's birthday for one thing!! How proud I am to Be An American!(don't you just love that Lee Greenwood song? Met him once..that's another post)

Here's some of my 4th of July favorites:

Fireworks -- Bombs bursting in air!!

Seeing Old Glory flown everywhere you look. It also reminds me of what our service men and women are doing and have done for us. Yes....you know I'm patriotic.

Another 4th favorite?? Grilling.. the smell, the tradition.. the whole thing.

And.. I forgot to put the picture up but is it just me or what would the 4th be without watermelon!!!???

LOVES it!!(Brad's not a fan though)

And.. of course, family and friends!

What are your favorites about the 4th of July?? What are your plans?? We're hitting up the lake then maybe some whitewater action!! :)

CIAO!1