Wedding blitz

Phew. The Caffey/Vogeler wedding isn't even today and it's already been almost chaos. LOL!

The bartender flaked. Thank God for my old neighbor Stacy. She took the job on basically no notice. She's going to be a huge help!

We had pedi's and mani's this morning.

We arranged to get 20 more chairs that were needed at the last minute from Penny's church.

After leaving Tippy Toes, my new favorite nail place, I hunted down four cross pendants for the bride to choose from.

Now it is almost time to head for the rehearsal dinner. No time for a nap but I'll sleep tonight. Maybe.

MTSU crime alert

Directly from an email I received from MTSU, except I italicized the perp's name for obvious reasons, since apparently, something went very, very awry with her ability to remain rational today:

On August 27, 2008, at approximately 10:14 a.m., two female MTSU students were involved in an argument over a parking place in the Bell Street parking lot on the MTSU campus. The argument ended when the suspect, Starlett Custer, 19 years of age, intentionally cut the victim, a 17-year-old juvenile, across the face and across the shoulder and arm area with some type of bladed instrument. The victim's injuries were not considered life-threatening; however, she was transported to Middle Tennessee Medical Center and treated. The suspect was arrested by MTSU Police and charged with aggravated assault. This case remains under investigation by MTSU Police.

This weekend

This weekend, two of our best friends, Mandy and Neil, get married. By then, the weather will clear up and we'll be ready for a beautiful ceremony and kicking reception. We can't wait!

College then versus college now

Let me just start by saying that had the experience then (beginning in 1994) been what it is today, I have no doubt that I would have earned close to a 4.0 GPA. Now why would I say that, you may ask?

Well, for starters, taking attendance appears to be a thing of the past. In the fall of 1994, I failed a class for attendance alone. I had an A in English 111; however, I missed class twice and was 'late' three times, meaning I walked in when the huzzy of a teacher was still taking roll but had already passed my last name. Her policy was three lates equaled an absence, and three missed classes equaled a grade of F for the semester.

Second, the teachers all have their lecture notes on the internet. You can print them out ahead of time and then take little notes in the margins. OR you can take notes in the lines that they have already included for you to take notes. If you miss class, you won't have any additional snippets of info the teacher added; however, you WILL have anything that appeared on the screen outlining the lecture. Honestly, these poor kids would die if they had to go back to just one day of political science in a hot Peck Hall classroom with only a chalk board.

Third, parking is not even remotely the problem it was then. You can feel pretty comfortable arriving on campus closer to your class start time, instead of needing 30 extra minutes just to find a decent space. You can also park a lot closer than previously.

The biggest improvement is PipelineMT. Wow. For those of us that originally had the DOS-based FRANK system, you can't even understand why they bothered giving us FRANK. It was uncooperative and difficult to navigate. It literally was a DOS program. That should be self explanatory. Now you have PipelineMT. PipelineMT is this whole HTML interfaced portal with access to your MTSU email account, your account for paying for school, your teachers' sites, on campus dining, the library portal, etc. You get the point.

My point is that the level of convenience is phenomenal these days.

Orange cola?

I just opened a Sprite and sat it on the end table. A few sips later, I have orange crayon Sprite. Lola promptly put an orange color into my new Sprite.

Beads! Beads! Beads!

I am so totally overwhelmed by beads right now. And I LOVE it. What a wonderful feeling to have all of these new materials, not to mention a surplus of my standard favorites, at my fingertips for creating. New designs, coming soon!

The bachelorette weekend

The weekend was an absolutely amazing experience. The bride, her sister and I laughed the entire time, I earned the nickname "Grace" by flipping myself out of a raft and half under the dock, I cooked three biscuits and a tiny bit of bacon for just us at 3AM, we both got the Sparx shakes on Saturday morning, we swam in the Tennessee River, I nearly lost my top climbing back into the boat, we pumped our hands in the air as we sped across the lake screaming along to some old rock and some new hip hop, we ate well, we tried desperately for two hours to blow up a big raft that unknowingly had two holes in it, we giggled much, we stretched the drive home into a six hour drive from two hours by site seeing and antique shopping...and then we grilled ribs at home that night with our main squeezes. Not everyone had as much fun (due to their own choice to focus on being catty) but we had an amazing time.

First, the bride trying to inflate that raft with the holes in it. Below, throwing signs somewhere in Alabama or Tennessee while wearing bonnets. Last, the bride and her sister, Penny, pitying da fool at Stan's Restaurant near Pulaski.

Overheard

Miles: Stop doing that, stupid!
Me, hollaring from the studio: Ahem! I better not have heard someone in the other room call someone else stupid.
Miles, hollaring from my bedroom: Sorry, Momma!
Lola, running into my studio crying: Mi-sey call me tuuuuupid, Momma!!
Me: Go back in there and tell her that she better not call you stupid again and to leave you alone.
Lola: Mi-sey, don't you call me tuuuupid a-gain!
Miles: Well Lo-Lo you better not ebber throw Blueberry on the floor again!

So there you have it. Apparently that fight started over Lola throwing Blueberry down and then Momma Bear Miles got defensive and called Lola stupid, after which Baby Lo-Lo comes and tattles to Momma that Miles called her stupid. You have to dissect these things to get to the real bottom of it.

Shocker? No.

I love me some Perez, but is it really a big shocker of breaking news that Jonathon Knight from New Kids on the Block is openly gay in LA? No. It is not. I have thought he was gay since almost the beginning of his career with NKOTB. Considering that we know that he has issues with panic attacks and social anxiety disorder, he should not have made two big posts outing him, you think?

My birthday, incase you're interested...

My birthday was just too fabulous!

I had an early birthday dinner date with my husband, Phil, at Fuji, thanks to the childcare provided by Mandy Caffey. I had dinner at my parents' house with Mandy and Neil joining us. I got: a new top-of-the-line wireless mouse for my laptop; a neat little french fry cutter; a really cool bug wind chime that reminds me of Chester Copperbottom from one of the kids' favorite movies, Robots, because the bug's feet are little brass upside down cup thingies that look like something about him; a cherry candle since cherry is Milesy's favorite flavor besides blueberry anything; a nice silicone tray for making juice popsicles; some new furniture for organizing/de-cluttering my foyer; money that I used towards an awesome GPS unit.

I am super spoiled right now. It was a good day. (To quote Ice Cube...)

BB10

I love the CBS reality show Big Brother. I have been watching it for several seasons now and it is just truly addictive. I always enjoy seeing what kind of drama will unfold and who will be voted out. The best is when someone is overly arrogant that they won't be going home but then they get "backdoored"; their reactions are always priceless!

Go Memphis! He's my new favorite!

Since someone recently called me out on my late night emails...

I have insomnia tonight. It really stinks because tomorrow's my birthday, and I'd really rather be snoozing it up so that I can be rested on my special day. Ahhhhhhhhhhh! I don't know what in the world happened. My neck just hurts and I can't get comfortable. I finally gave up, came downstairs, took a Benadryl and found something to watch On Demand.

The Olympics

We are loving the way we can occassionally catch a glimpse of The Olympics. Between all of the "shows for little girls" that dominate our telly around here, I seem to be tuning in just in time to see most of the history--making swimming events!

Suri, Suri, Suri

Oh my goodness. This clip just cracked me up!

You must watch it!

Just a little trim...sorta not really

Last night Lola got her hair trimmed. Her bob was shortened and reshaped. It is precious again.

Today, Miles relented and agreed to a cut, saying "jus' a little bitty trim, okay, Momma?" We've been butting heads all summer about whether or not she should let it grow or cut it and she has been adamant that it stay long. However, she has a thick head of hair just like both Phillip and me, and that makes for an unmanageable mane at times.

Anyway, tonight, she told me to just go ahead and cut it. I positioned her on the closed toilet as Lola took a bath and carefully began to gently tame that mane/chop that mop. We pulled it up in sections and before she knew it, we were done. A few tears were shed in fear that it would hurt, but the child was so anxious to see just how she looked with her new 'do.

She hopped off the toilet, skipped over to the vanity and looked in the mirror. As a grin that only the Cheshire Cat could rival began to spread across her apple-round cheeks, she gasped and quietly said in a most magical way, "Oh, Momma! It looks just like Skylar's! It's beautiful!!!! It's just like Skylar's AND Sydney's!"

And now, I present to you...Miles and Lola after their August 2008 haircuts...

Above, you have Little Phillip holding her puppy blankie with her "widdle nummy" poised to pop into her mouth at any second should danger arise, and then you have Little Dusty, doting on her baby that Santa brought her for her third Christmas when she just over two years old, Blueberry, and covered by her blankie. Below, you have Little Dusty with Blueberry. *Blueberry actually still smells like Blueberries after being puked on and washed numerous times.

I can't wait for this special event...

We are taking our girls to Disney on Ice at the Sommet Center! I can hardly stand knowing I still have over a month until then!!!!!! Cars, Little Mermaid, The Lion King and "Tinklebell" will be flitting around the ice and in great view from our prime seats!!!! I am soooo happy about this!

A blizzard in August?

tonight we took the girls to Dairy Queen. We wouldn't tell them where we were headed until we arrived. They shared an Oreo Blizzard and were absolute dolls. Miles was dressed in a pink princess dress while Lola wore her Snow White outfit! Absolutely precious!

The Discovery Center

Thanks to my friend, Jen, I went to the Discovery Center today with Jen, Angel, Emily, Shea and a new friend and then another lady that I sadly never really met. I'll have to make it a point to introduce myself next time. Bad me! Bad me!

Anyway, we ended up staying for three hours and it was a blast! We even bought a membership.

Thanks to my friend, Money...

I'll probably be stalking the elderly.

He informed yesterday that his grandma is in a rehab center (assisted living) in Tullahoma where some of Little Richard's relatives live. Little Richard sometimes comes in and turns the visiting area into one big party.

Thank Money!!!

Goin' back to school...

Time for a big announcement!

DRUM ROLL please...

On August 25th, MTSU begins the fall semester. And so do I!

I will only be taking two classes: Anatomy and Physiology 1 and basic Psychology. I am retaking psychology because I got a less than stellar grade before. It won't erase the D I got years ago but it will look good on my nursing school apps if I show that I have retaken it and gotten, hopefully, an A. I only got a D because I didn't care at the time. I should do far better this time.

It is funny. My first two years of college are spattered with a C or a D nearly every semester... amongst the A's and B's, mind you. Then my last two years are Dean's List...with at least a 3.5 GPA every semester after I took a little two semester break. It was a voluntary break. I wasn't suspended or anything like that. I just needed a break. When I went back, I was so much more focused. I expect that same situation this time around for my second degree.

Anyhoo, only time will tell how it works out, but at some point in the next three years, I should graduate as a real RN. Woot Woot!

Phil's birthday

Phillip's birthday was Friday. We had a great family outing to Toot's for dinner! Before going to Toot's, though, we had a surprise for him. We bought some balloons at Dollar Tree and some silly string!! Our plan was to greet him outside by spraying him with the silly string, but he got home quicker than expected! We had a crazy silly string fight in our living room and kitchen! It was a total mess but so much fun!

He got a new Mac Book, Dexter: the first season DVD set and some new dress socks. I totally forgot about him asking for Blue Oyster Cult's CD. OOPS!