Beach Tuesday

And now back to my vacation recap...

Tuesday we decided to stay at the beach.  It was a beautful day, sunny and warm without being too hot.  so, armed with lots of sunscreen, some reading material (Glamour, Us Weekly, and People) and all of our beach stuff we headed out.

While I grew up going to the beach, this was only Amber's second trip to the beach and her first to the Gulf.  While we enjoyed the waves, she played in the sand a bit.

A girl can only take so much beach at a time, so we came in to assess just how much sun we had gotten and to have a snack.  We may have also checked our Facebook.  (Being on the beach is no reason not to be informed about what everyone else is doing!)

We tried to take pictures of ourselves.  I didn't remember to take the zoom off on this self-portrait.  I'd call it a fail, but I think I like it more than the ones where you see everything!

This is my pedicure.  OPI Flashbulb Fuschia, just in case you were wondering.

Some of us were pretty excited over all the sand, apparently!  :)

We went somewhere great for supper every night.  The first night we went to Lulu's.  We had drinks and dinner (I had the chicken strips, Amber went with the fried shrimp and oysters) and just enoyed our time on the marina before heading back to the room to relax and watch questionable television.  (E! network, anyone?)

Stay tuned for the second and third installments coming soon!

In Memorium: Dixie Carter

I was a little girl when Designing Women was originally on the air, but even then I knew that I wanted to be Julia Sugarbaker.  That class, the wit, the power, and oh, those speeches.  There was just something about that woman.  (Perhaps this also explains my deep and abiding love for all things southern.)  As I got older and watched the repeats and eventually bought the first couple of season to watch over and over again, I realized that while Julia Sugarbaker was a remarkable character, she wasn't nearly as remarkable as the woman behind her, Dixie Carter.  Dixie was an accomplished stage actress, and was on television shows from 1974 until just last year.  She too was a force to be reckoned with.

Dixie Carter passed away on Saturday.  I found out Sunday morning on the news, and was so stunned I immediately sent a text to Crystal to share the news.  I'm sad for her friends and for her husband, Hal Holbrook, who was on Designing Women as her boyfriend and eventual husband.  Annie Potts (Mary Jo) had the most wonderful things to say about her friend.  (You can read it here.)  It's the kind of thing that you hope people will say about you when you go. 

I just wanted to pay tribute to her here, in the middle of my vacation stories, because I feel like I was totally influenced by her class and style (even if I was always a little more Suzanne than I ever was a Julia).

100!!

I am so excited to officially announce that this is my 100th post.  That's right.  I have filled your brains with my musing 100 times since starting this blog and you are still checking in to see what I have to say.  For the next few posts, minus a special one that I am going to post as soon as I get this one up, I will be focusing on my vacation to Gulf Shores.  It was our 3rd Annual Girls' Trip, and Amber and I had a blast despite me being an overexcited traveler (which is annoying, but unavoidable for I love to travel) and Amber being a cranky one.  (And no, I'm not slamming her.  We talk about this all the time.)  

She was a little unsure about the whole thing by the time we got into town (after 10 long hours in the car), but this view made it all worth it.

                                      

This was the view from Room 302 of the Best Western at the Beach as the sun was beginning to set.  And this was just Monday.   Stay tuned for more pictures and details of our adventures in Dixie.

I'm Back!

Okay, I want to start by saying that since I couldn't really post pictures from my Netbook while I was on vacation this last week, today's going to be a busy day!  Not only do have a about 500 pictures to sort through from the trip, I also have to get started on the editting for the 5th and 6th grade basketball and jr. high volleyball pictures for work.   Good thing I have declared that I am not going anywhere or doing anything today (which we all know means that I will jump at the first offer I have to do anything else!  I am always a procrastinator first!) 

In other news, I am excited to announce that my friend and blog follower, Casey, has become a blogger herself!  She has a funny and unique viewpoint on life and I would encourage you to check her out!  (I love it when I talk like 1000 people read this thing, knowing it will just be the girls and Casey!)  But, at any rate, I am glad that she has followed my advice and look forward to the many posts to come.

Speaking of posts, tomorrow marks a really big number for me...

Vacation...All I Ever Wanted...

Tomorrow, I get the heck out of Dodge.  I am loading up all of my bags (and there are many) and heading south for some quality time with a good friend and a nice sandy beach.  If all goes well, you will be receiving plenty of updates!  Maybe even my 100th post!  (Just two away!)  I'm so thankful that my family is going to be taking care of my fur baby (who is alternating between sleeping on the clothes in my suitcase and sleeping on the clothes in the popisan.  I am ready for bed (even though my packing isn't quite done), because I got up with the sun this morning (see the proof below).

Though I am so sleepy now, it was well worth it to go to church with my family and celebrate Christ rising from the dead!  Happy Easter, ya'll!

My Good Friday In Pictures

"Hi!  I'm Tucker!  Wanna play fetch?  I really like fetch!  Oh, butterfly!"

Lulu's boyfriend had never dyed Easter eggs so she set out to remedy that.

All the blank canvases...

Lulu explained the rules and they were off...

Ooo...fizzy...

That is one happy elf!

I loved the way these looked together.

This is by far the coolest feature of my Powershot.  I love that I can decided what has color and what doesn't!

"You sure you don't wanna play?  I love fetch.  And the ball's extra slobbery..."

Dale DOES NOT play fetch.  (He only has the one lung.)

Shredder wishes you a Happy Easter.  Now, take your eggs and go away.

April Fools' Day

My Grandpa Gus loved April Fools' Day.  He was a jokester and loved to have a good time, so it was right up his alley.  I still remember he and my brother (who's getting married in 79 days), calling each other on April first trying to get in the funniest, yet most believeable story to fool the other.  It's funny the things that you remember about someone.  Both of my grandpa's died when I was a sophomore in high school.  I think about them all the time for a million different reasons.  I live in Granpa Chuck's house.  I get my love of photography from Grandpa Gus.  I am who I am because of them.  And there's no fooling about that.