New Car!!!!

March 30th 2009 was the day to go forth and purchase a brand new car on my own, and so I did with great pride if I say so myself. It was the longest day that I have experienced in quite some time, but I have managed to make it through and back to work without tragedy. I am so very excited and thrilled that the wait is over and now I no longer have to worry about a vehicle on it's way out. Okay, I purchased a 2009 Nissan Altima. The ENTIRE experience with Jim Keras Nissan was so pleasureable and I would definately recommend them to anyone in the market for a Nissan. The car is black and gorgeous. I am so very excited and can't wait to show it off to anyone who wants to look.

Hello Sunshine

Can anybody tell me what is up with this weather? I mean one day it's 70 two days later it is back in the 50's. No wonder everyone that comes into my office is getting sick. My knees can't decide what temperature is the best for them. It hasn't been fun adjusting, clothing wise, every five minutes. I starting tanning at the end of last week and have been enjoying it so much. I had forgotten how relaxing it was for me to get into the bed itself and just lay still for a while. With the humming of the bed and the music in the background, I can just get lost in my thoughts and be alone. Kyla and I have a little place we go near work, where everyone knows your name, if you know what I mean. In a short amount of time, we feel like we've become friends with the staff in there. They say we are funny and make an odd couple of friends. It's really nice because it is like getting a quick little nap during the middle of the day. I am so ready for the cold weather to be over, and I know I've said that a few times now. Some people really love the cold weather better. My dad is one of them, due to the fact he is so hot natured. The heat makes him miserable. I just hate the dreary gray days of winter when the trees are all bare and everyone is inside all day every day. I can think of nothing that is more soothing than being on a float with a cold beverage in the water somewhere. Just float your troubles away! Ahh. Feels good just dreaming about it. This time of the year, I have such a hard time getting anything productive done. I get spring fever and don't want to get anything accomplished that I need to. I haven't cleaned up around my house, cleaned my truck out, or done laundry that isn't just a must. I know, lazy right, but that is just how I feel. Grey, however, could do without the sunshine and fresh air. He likes being inside where his little eyes are adjusted. Mom and I took him on a little walk over by the little pond near our house and he didn't really care too much for the sunlight. He kept closing his eyes and putting his face down in the blanket. He never really fussed he just didn't care for it. About 10 minutes into our adventure, we layed him on his back on my blanket and he started to fall asleep. He is so precious.

Or atleast we think so. Until next time, enjoy this pretty weather we are having for the most part.

Technology

Thank the Lord it's finally Friday!!!! I am so glad to see the weekend. Here at work we are trying very hard to maintain a certain quota and Kyla has been killing me with day patients. It's all a good thing though so I shouldn't complain. Not much to report on this week and it hasn't been very eventful but my life is never dull that's for sure.

Recently I have been introduced to Twitter by my Mom and by others around me. I have really enjoyed it and all that it entails. The inner thoughts of celebrities and some of my friends are and have been a constant source of entertainment for me when I get bored either at work or at home. For those of you guys reading that have never heard of Twitter, it is a forum in which people write short thoughts to be displayed for all who "follow" them. I am new to it and am still learning so much, but it has been strange and fun.
We have so many resources for communication nowadays. It's insane if you think about it. Twenty years ago people didn't even have cell phones, now I know 10 year old's that have IPhones. People love gadgets so much that the market hasn't really dipped. I am just as guilty. I recently got an ITouch. Which is the IPhone just without the phone part. I love and use it every single day. Yet with all of this technology at our finger tips, are we actually losing touch? Families and friends now communicate through email, myspace, facebook, twitter, and lets not forget about texting. Where would we all be without our texting? I can't even remember how we all kept up with each other before texting. It is so convenient and simple in concept. In my family it's how we schedule everything. It is also how we keep up with my Uncle Clay and the race team. Each pass they make a time, speed, and ranking is sent to all on his list. Thank goodness, because it is so hard to talk to someone at the track to get info and the race on television is way behind. I have complete conversations with people in the same room with me through text messaging. (Yes Kas, I was talking about you) At work, we now call in sick or let someone know that you're late via text. It is so easy, but it is also less personal. I am always amazed that even though we have so many ways to get in touch with people that I can never seem to get anybody on the phone. LoL. There are some people that still use their phones like phones instead of PDA's. (Again, I'm guilty, I have a Blackjack II) I'm sure that some people miss hearing the sound of their loved ones voices. Sometimes I call people hoping for their voicemail just so that I don't have to have a conversation with them. Nice, huh? I love technology as long as it works, because when it doesn't it is just a pain to deal with.
An update on Grey Carter is much needed I think. He is getting so big so quick. Now 5 months old, he is holding onto things when you stand him up as well as rolling over very well now. We have had to train ourselves to buckle the straps in all his chairs because he can and will get out of them now. More and more of his personality is beginning to show through with all of his facial expressions, sounds, and movements when something happens. He loves seeing me in the afternoon when I first walk through the door home from work. And he surely loves his Daddy. Kasey called me last week and was laughing because Grey was talking and laughing at a picture of Nathan. Everything is so new to him and watching him look at things for the first time is so surreal. He is eating baby food pretty regular now. He often helps his Mommy while she is trying to feed him which, to me, is hilarious. He is so sweet. Anyways, hope all of you guys out there are enjoying this weather. Go text your loved ones.

World in His Hands

So many days I wake up and feel like I have no control over my circumstances even though that is just silly and I should never think that. I have so much and so little going on right now at the same time. Trying to keep everyone happy, I have remained as neutral as possible by just keeping still and working on my listening skills. My Nana sent me an email this morning that was so perfect that it made me smile. I'm no longer amazed at God's ways of reaching me. It was about a trip to the beach reminding a woman how big God is and how the control is in his hands. It was just what I needed to get my day started. This weekend seemed very long to me. Most of the time I blink and it's over, but not this one. I did spend some time with Jay this weekend, as I do most weekends. That was rewarding as always. He levels me out in a weird unexplainable way that I am still trying to understand. Just being around him makes me feel somehow saner. LOL. Not to mention, Tuckie keeps me laughing. Taylor and I spent some much needed time together Saturday night. She decided that we should go to "I-PoPs" for dinner. It was so cute that I couldn't even say no. So at 7:30pm we had breakfast for dinner. Believe it or not, she ate very well. She is so picky when it comes to her food. I keep telling her she must have taken after Nathan. When he was little he went through phases of food every week. At one time he even claimed not to like macaroni! We had fun drawing pictures with crayons on the kid's menu at the restaurant even after our food came. I worry about how she will take all of this with her parents, but she is so sweet and good natured that she will probably do much better than the rest of us will. Children are so resilient especially when they are young and somewhat oblivious. Sunday was mostly a lazy day. I didn't even get out of bed until almost noon. Jay and I went to Home Depot's to get so stuff for his flower beds and then to Target to get Tuckie food. Other than that my weekend was very uneventful. I know last night Jay and probably most of Memphis was upset about the Universtiy of Memphis' basketball team not getting the number one seed pick. I know very little about basketball so I didn't quite understand the severity of that decision, but I was schooled on how all of that works. It did sound like Memphis got the short hand of the stick. I hope that they come back and whoop them all anyways. This weather is so crazy right now that it makes me want to move to Florida or maybe somewhere in the Keys. Poor Grey can't get out from under this little cold that he has. He has been such a Daddy's baby all weekend. He traveled all the way down to Sugar Creek with his daddy this weekend. He had a lot of fun. Well, this weekend, as I said, was uneventful. Now I'm trying to get my week started off right by just remembering that God has my whole world in his hands. So, until next time everyone have a great day

Lazy Day

Not a whole lot to report today, but Kyla and I are sitting here taking it easier than normal. Both of us are trying to fight the urge to run to the animal shelter right now and find a baby animal. Jay has recently got me wanting a puppy by way of looking online then calling me to get me to take a quick look. I have wanted one for years now. Tucker has been so rewarding and he was a rescue baby, so I think that maybe that would be a better way to go. Looking at those pictures online are hard because you just immediately fall into love and want to go pick them up. I told Kyla that maybe we could open a shelter for all the lost loved pets out there. She quickly said that would be a terrible idea. Not because she doesn't love animals, because she does, but because she would never think anyone was good enough for them and wouldn't let them leave. We would be the crazy dog ladies that lived at the shelter. Appealing as that may sound to her, I know we couldn't handle it. We would get new pet, nurse it back to health, take pictures for the internet, and cry when it was adopted. I get attached so quickly to puppies that it would be awful. I do wish that I had one though, even though I know now wouldn't be a very good time.
Until next time, have a great hump day and could someone talk my Momma into me a puppy?

Monkeying Around

Here I am back at work on Monday morning thinking about the busy weekend that I had with Taylor Ann and I am happy but exhausted! I picked her up Friday afternoon after school and I don't believe we slowed down all weekend long. That afternoon, we toured my Uncle Clay's shop with some friends of mine. We then went to the house just long enough for me to change and head towards Bartlett to meet Jay to eat dinner. After coloring all over the table at Macaroni Grill and maybe eating two good sized bites, we left and ventured out to Pet Smart and then to Target. While looking for a bowl for Tucker we ran into many pets in the store that we of course just had to stop and pet. We even saw the cutest little Yorkies I have ever seen with dresses on and pearls for collars. Once we got into Target it was on. I told her I didn't have little girl paraphernalia in my house just big girl stuff and if she wanted something to watch, read, or play with we had to purchase it and take it home. Sleeping Beauty was selected because she said she didn't already have it and had never seen it. Can you believe that? I mean, come on, it's a classic. So, she had to have it along with some Littlest Pet Shop toys. We got home watched the movie and some Sponge Bob and finally passed out. Now, I do not have children of my own and am not equiped with the kind of stamina that mother's must posses in order to keep up with not one but multiple kids. Lord only knows how they do it. Needless to say, I was exhausted. So, much to my dismay, she was wide awake at 8:30am ready to go again. I quickly made her breakfast and jumped in the shower while she watched the movie, again. After her bath, I mentioned that we could go to the zoo..... which was a huge hit with her.

First of all, I think that everyone had the same idea we did, because there were many people trying to get into the zoo at the same time as us and we had a bit of a wait. We parked and went into the front gate and the day begun. She was so very excited. The lady that we payed to get into the zoo gave us a map, so Taylor was keeping an eye on our progress and didn't let me skip anything. I had a blast with her all day long. Her commentary on the animals and their behavior kept me in stitches throughout our journey. For instance, their were two leopards mating in Cat Country and she immediately explained to me how they were just playing while I was trying to divert her attention elsewhere. Each time we stopped to "take a break" as she called it, we played with my camera. She also loves to see the pictures we take right after so we would sit and view them together. She was so good. It really was a perfect day weather wise for us and all the animals. Most of them were out and about playing and lounging in the sun. The panda bear was a ham for sure. He would wave a paw and even stuck his tongue out for everyone around at the moment.

There have been new additions to some of the homes of the animals that I was very impressed with. The Northwest Passage exhibit was, in a word, gorgeous. I may be a little partial because the polar bears are my favorite animal at the zoo so I am glad that they are back and have a beautiful new home to live and swim in. The entire area was full of artwork, stonework, and carved totem poles. It was a must that we stop by the gift shop on our way out and she had to have something. We each got matching small polar bears because she said we just had to. Mine is on my desk right now. She ate McDonald's on the way home, and she, according to Dad, took a pretty lengthy nap all afternoon. I too was drained. I kept Grey until Mom got home and then I fell asleep for a little while watching the NASCAR race.

This weekend was a great success even though I am so sleepy today. I am looking forward to more fun outings that Taylor and I are going to go on. She wants to go the the Pink Palace, so I'm sure we will soon. Anyways, until next time have a great day and hang out with your loved ones as much as you can while you can.

Wasteful Spending

Is any one out there sick and tired of hearing about stimulus bills and "pork" which is wasteful spending? I know I sure am. We the public are very well aware that our economy is going to hell in a hand basket and everyone is scared to death when vocabulary is being used like the media is using. It is bad enough worrying about losing your jobs, but then we are constantly reminded how much President Obama is doing and how little everyone else has done for us. I'm sorry, but he hasn't done that much other than offer a $800 billion dollar stimulus solution. I follow politics closely, and feel very confident in my information on a daily basis. So could someone explain to me how we spend large amounts of money in order to SAVE money? I don't understand it at all. This isn't the answer we, the country, needs right now. I just got done reading an article about the earmarks in the stimulus package and how Obama stated that there were none. After reading about the roaring laughter that broke out on the floor of Congress when our President claimed that we just passed a bill without earmarks in it, I had to investigate which earmarks they were talking about. Now, for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, earmarks are the "pet projects" that Congressmen throw into the bill before the signing process. These projects are things that their particular states are in need of. Some of the list was somewhat understandable such as a natural history museum in Las Vegas and a convention center in South Carolina, however, Iowa got $8 million dollars of the taxpayers money for pig odor research. Yeah, you heard me right, pig odor research. What is that? Who cares about pig odor anyway? Ugh, just makes me crazy that we are all shaking in our boots with fear of losing our jobs and having to loose everything we have and they are giving $8 million dollars for something dumb. If we are just going to waste the money, give it back to us. I could waste money and have something to show for it! Maybe I need to run for office and head to Washington which would be a dream job by the way. Of course, I am not corrupt so I wouldn't be able to obtain funding to get there. Anyways, I just couldn't believe that. Speaking of things I couldn't believe, Michael Jackson is going on tour for the last time...... Seriously? Seriously. My Mom actually called laughing because they were following his tour bus over head much like the O.J. chase. My question was and still is, is he going on tour for the sake of the music or is he simply out of money like the rest of us. There is no telling these days.
Other than teething, Grey baby is doing great. He is so bright eyed lately. When I come in from working all day it is so nice to be met with a smiling face of a sweet baby boy. He has been crawling more and more in his bed and on our beds when we have him. They grow too fast. Not to complain, but my work load has tripled. We are so busy we can barely accommodate all of our patients and their paperwork. Kyla is keeping me hopping that's for sure ;) Taylor is coming to stay with me Friday night and Saturday, so I am sure the next blog entry will be a humorous one because that girl cracks me up. She has been really sick this week with a sinus infection and inner ear infection. No one thinks any of that is fun I'm sure. I looked at the weather for the weekend and I smiled thinking it is going to break 70 degrees. We are coming up on pool time weather! I'm so excited. Until next time, enjoy the weather and hang on to you money because the government is looking for ridiculous ways to spend it these days.

Slow Down

Since the last blog, we have had some SNOW, and boy it was a ton of snow. I could not get over all the inches that blanketed Millington so quickly, twice. To me, there isn't much that is more gorgeous than snow falling in the darkness when everything is quite and still. We didn't do much but hang in the house Saturday and watch it fall. Everyone has stories about all their pets and how they were sinking in the snow and making "yellow snow". Kyla said that there were spots in her yard that Colby would fall into and couldn't get out of. Tucker, Jay's lab, ran back and forth in his back yard until he was exhausted. Grey, on the other hand, didn't like his snow suit at all. He screams when we dress him normally, so getting dressed twice didn't set well with him. We took maybe two pictures outside and that isn't like my Mom at all. All weekend long I was extremely lazy. I just sat around watching the snow fall or watching the television catching up on all the shows I miss when I am busy. Actually, it was relaxing and nice to just be sitting around in my PJ's doing nothing. Getting back to work this morning was hard and we have been extremely busy for about a month now. We can't really complain about it though because everyone is so slow lately and we have picked up. The snow is beautiful and sometimes a lot of fun, but I am so desperately awaiting summer time. I can't hardly wait for pool time!
Here lately, all of my friends have been sharing their realities with me about all of the relationships, kids, dogs, and friends. The stories about the stresses of life all make me thankful for my life and sometimes the lack there of. I am so glad, sometimes, not to have to worry about how I can pay for daycare, who's going to keep my kids, is he cheating on me, should sell my house and move, should I stay or should I go, or all the other ones that come along with being an adult. Don't get me wrong, I would love to get married, buy a house, decorate it, and then start a family. But all the tales of their fights and worries have made me realize that this may be my time to be "Twenty-something". Everyone has said to be a kid as long as you can and I have always wanted to hurry and grow up. I think that maybe I am not ready for really big worries just yet. I love my friends and I always hate it when there are crazy things going on in their lives so I hope they aren't irritated that I'm talking about them now, but I am not feeling as jealous these days. Hopefully, my little life will take off one day and I pray it will be wonderful. Often I am puzzled by all the unhappy people that are together. Why is that? Why do people get together so quickly and why do they stay when there is no love or happiness? I can't understand it and yet I totally get it. People, for the most part, hate change more than anything else and stay out of habit more than necessity. I picked up my sister yesterday and took her to her mommy and while driving home I thought, there has to be more to life than this. She is six years old and probably will never remember her parents being together. Of course I can't say that they should never have gotten married, because I can't imagine my life without her in it. However, it is kind of sad that another family bites the dust. It seems to be harder these days to stay married or in a relationship, or is it? Are we more into ourselves than people used to be? I wonder sometimes if it isn't these times that cause divorce so much as us being painfully selfish. I am just as guilty as anyone else, especially nowadays. It is all about ME. As a matter of fact, it always has been in my life and family. I am a princess and always will be ;) It is possible that we are living in a social experiment that is stuck in fast forward, where everything is done at warp speed and no one stops long enough to even notice. I wish things were simpler for me and other couples that are trying to make it. Maybe we should all just slow down and try not to take one another for granted. So for those of you out there beginning a new relationship, don't jump off a cliff with someone you hardly know. Please try to get to know the person before you fall in love and make a huge mistake. Each day is a gift not a God given right, but we are all so arrogant thinking we can controll everything by playing the devil's game. The devil is of this world, and we are not putting our faith and trust in God so that we can wear his armour. Even with his shield over us we have to love each other. So I suppose we should slow down and try to comprehend that life is passing by quickly and we should love the ones that are worth loving and pitch the ones that aren't.
Until next time, love the one you are with and stay warm......