awkward family photos

It only seems fitting that I would love a website solely dedicate to Olan Mills-esque 1983 pictures, appropriately named awkwardfamilyphotos.com.

My high school friend Meredith sent me this jewel of a photo yesterday from the site. I, in turn, just had to pass it on, along with the description that was included with the picture. Instant laugh!



Our (my brother Mark and I) goal in life was to be cool and nothing says cool like lounging on a car wearing a shirt from Wal-Mart before your “vacation” to the Huntsville Space and Rocket Center 45 minutes away from your house. Just check out the awkward goodness in this photo:

The Mullet. This was a compromise between my mother and I. She wanted me to have Mary Lou Rhetton hair and I wanted long hair like my classmates. The result? Feather-backed mullet goodness. That’s not a perm!

Blue Mirrored Clip-On Shades. I wore glasses, nice thick black with pink splatter glasses. I loved them but I, again, wanted the cool shades of my peers. Enter the oversized blue, mirrored clip on shades that would make any state trooper jealous. I wanted the ones that flipped up, but they were too expensive.

The Dick Tracy Shirt. Again, in a vain attempt to look cool, hip and in the know, my brother and I desperately wanted a Dick Tracy shirt. I’m pretty sure we had the Nintendo game too. Confession: I’ve never seen Dick Tracy. I just had the shirt.

The Yellow Socks. All the cool kids had colored socks! I always wanted colored socks, but was only allowed white. When we got the Dick Tracy shirt I knew it was my chance!

The Wrist Pouch. My brother was on the go, and by on the go, I mean playing with the tool bench behind us. So what’s a boy to do with no pockets in his red short shorts? Easily wear the 50 cents papaw gave you on your wrist.

For more awkwardness, check out www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com. You won't be disappointed!

cutting the cheese

Well, I'm about to cut the cheese.

That's right...today is my last day to consume cheese, because starting tomorrow, Ash Wednesday, I am giving it up until Easter.

Even though I am not Catholic, ever since High School I have always challenged myself to give up something for Lent for spiritual reasons. I have always found it worthwhile and meaningful and have continued it every Lenten season.

Cheese isn't even one of my favorite foods, but think about how it's in/on a lot of what you eat! I hadn't really thought about how much it was in my diet until I decided what to give up. Salads...cream cheese on bagels...casseroles, to name a few. This also means no pizzas, no cheeseburgers, no grilled cheese...for the next few months. To some, it might seem easy. To me, not so much.

Cheese doesn't exactly equate to the sacrifices Jesus made during his 40 days and nights in the desert, but being without it will no-doubt be a challenge for me, and that's the point, right?!

Happy Valentine's Day!

What's not to love about a day dedicated to candy, fancy dinners and flowers?! Have a great one!


I got this in an email last year from my friend Laing...still makes me laugh.

what gives?

Remember this little incident?

Well, it happened again. This time, at work. And this time, way more bizarre.

Today I received an envelope in my mailbox with my name on it, typed out. The return address was a P.O. Box in Nashville - but with no name. It looked like more than just a normal letter so I was excited to open it up. I immediately got back to my desk and tore into the package.

What was mystery envelope number two?!?!

A single pack of 10 two-ply tissues. That's it.

I know that sometimes things that happen to me are hard to believe, and while this picture is anything but exciting, I had to document it to erase any doubt you might have.



I mean honestly...WTH?

Wednesday Randoms

Lots going on this week, and I'm still coming off of a great weekend spent in Birmingham with some of my favorite college friends. I haven't stopped since. Therefore, I haven't had time/the thought process to write something profound. But here are some random thoughts.

1. SO GLAD the Saints won. As big of a Tennessee fan as I am, I have never found myself rooting for the Colts. I'm glad that New Orleans gets to party with the Lombardi. Drew Brees with his little boy at the end was the icing on top of the (king) cake.

2. Valentine's Day is coming up. And while I AM single, I AM NOT a stereotypical bitter, eat chocolate and bitch kinda girl on the 14th. It is what it is. I know I'll still get flowers...from my mom.

3. Someone(s) at my work yesterday went on a cleaning rampage of the break room refrigerator. Bam! No warning, no nothing. They threw away everything in sight, including my friend's lunch for the day. But they were sure to keep a case of Bud Light that has been in there since our 2008 Christmas party. I wonder what 2 year old beer taste like? Rest assured, I won't be finding out.

4. The new relationship in my life (read: my cell phone) is going so-so. We have our days. It makes me cuss sometimes. I am still learning...but I've come to the conclusion that it's a great phone for getting email, internet acces & the weather. It sucks as far as actually placing a call or answering a text message. But, I WON'T GIVE UP!

The Blazer

My first car was a beast. It still would be a beast if someone didn't jack it from my sister's apartment this past August. It was like the Energizer Bunny...it just kept going.

When I turned 16, my parents bought me a 1989 Chevy Blazer...2 door, hunter green with tinted windows. I am not sure how many miles it had on it - but it was 7 years old when I first started driving it. Every now and then I would have problems with it, but I still loved that car. And with it came some great stories.

Occasionally I would run into stuff. But the Blazer would just pick back up and keep trucking along. I backed in to a ditch in my friend's driveway, I ran in to a house...and I ran off the road during a snow storm one Christmas Eve. And it still worked and had minimal scratches. The Blazer got me to and from Birmingham for 4 years. Even though it would shake when you would get it above 80 on the interstate, it still got me there in one piece.

But there were two things that just always made people laugh about my car. One, you could take the keys out while the car was moving. If you don't believe me, I have witnesses. I don't know how or why or what made that work, but it was such a fun joke to play on people.

The other was, you could open my driver's side door with any key. Which probably explains why it got stolen. I can't tell you how many times my absent-minded self would lock my keys in my car, and all it would take would be to use somebody's keys to open the door. On more than one occasion, I had to ask a total stranger for their keys...they would be confused and amazed all at the same time.

Once I got another car, my sister was given the Blazer. It almost got her through 3 years of college, but it got stolen this past August. I almost cried when she told me. And being in the middle of winter, I really find myself missing it even more...especially after last weekend's snow and ice show. The Blazer and I could dominate some snowy roads. It was such a great first car.

It's the small things...

While watching the Grammy's last night, my eyes would occasionally look at the school closings at the bottom of the screen. I don't know why I care, but I always look to see if my (former) school is closed. Because we never, ever closed for weather.

I couldn't help but notice a daycare that rolled by...the name of the daycare was Darlene's Little Darlings. It made me chuckle just a little bit.

But not as much as some of the other names. So, without further a-do, here are my favorite Nashville daycare names that literally made me laugh out loud as their named rolled across t.v.

Once Upon a Child
Little Bit of Heaven
Kids Kove
Mary's Little Lambs
Diapers to Backpacks
Kindercare for Tots
Thank Goodness Daycare

And my personal favorite...

Children Are People

I am sure that all of these are great places for childcare. But the names are just loony. I googled all of them to make sure they were for real.

It's the little things that make me laugh big.