Announcing a new blog....

Just please go visit this site, please! Homemaker Homegirls Inc. thanks you in advance.

Y'all cain't even fathom how much I want to watch this multiple times in a row.

Yeah, I wrote "cain't". You have a problem with that? Sometimes you just have to write it the way you want someone to read it, and any true southern girl just has to bust out the "cain't" every now and then.

What made me bust out "cain't"?? I'll tell you what did. This did!

This Is It

Thank you Michael for all of the old memories, but I'm so glad I was able to see this side of you.

What can I say about the Michael Jackson film, This Is It? Well, for starters, it was phenomenal. The footage truly makes you feel like you were there, a part of it, like you knew him. He was far more normal in the film than he was projected to be in life. He was far less effeminate, noticeably less strung out, far more normal, more humorous and particularly humble in regards to his dancers, musicians and singers.

I left the film so happy that I was part of history. I saw the film at the earliest possible point in time for anyone that wasn't someone to M.J. himself. I saw it when it premiered to the world. I felt included and a complete resurgence of all of the feelings that were felt when he died. I hope that any Michael Jackson fan gets an opportunity to see the film in theaters. It was heart warming. I was really sad when the credits began. I could have watched another hour of his rehearsal footage. It was that good.

Of course, there were a few drawbacks. Someone sitting behind us clearly had a foot fungus of the corn chip variety and we smelled it frequently throughout the showing. We also got a few funny looks for wearing the sparkling gloves that I made for Jen, Meag, Emma and myself. Those things didn't change my opinion of the experience for the worse. By the way, thank you, Jen, for inviting me! I hope your sparkling glove makes a nice addition to your scrapbook!

If you call yourself a fan, you must see This Is It. Then again, if you call yourself a critic, then you truly must see This Is It. I think you'll reevaluate your opinion.

Holy sweet pralines! Only 3 days...

Three days until my date with Half Pint and her fam! Casey is treating me to Little House on the Prairie at TPAC. I am so excited! Melissa Gilbert is playing Ma, too.

P.S. I still hate Nellie Olsen.

Mashed potatoes! Gravy!

Field trip fun

Miles went on her very first real school field trip yesterday! We both enjoyed our day at the Walden Pumpkin Farm. It was beautifully sunny and nice outside.

Lined up to get on the hayride...

Several little girls that seem to be kindergartens besties...

We did a hay ride, petted baby goats and calves, saw turkeys, chickens, pheasants, horses and pigs. We got to pick our own pumpkins to take home and Miles went through a hay maze.

I think the most exciting part for her was riding on a school bus!

Shots

Miles and Lola got flu shots and H1N1 nasal mists today, so we are much more confident that we won't have any major illnesses at our house this flu season. Also, Lola would like for you all to know that she does NOT have the swan flu.

Somebody loves Little Richard

It will never cease to amaze me how many hits I get from my posts on Little Richard!

Disney on Ice -OR- how we kicked off celebrating six years of Miles

I realized tonight that I never blogged about Disney on Ice. This was our second year seeing the show at The Sommet Center. Since Daddy works downtown, we met him at work and set out on our evening of fun.

For starters, we went to the Old Spaghetti Factory again this year.

Later, we walked down 2nd Avenue and Broadway to the venue and found our seats.

The girls brought their hats from last year to avoid the temptation to buy new souvenirs, and I'm glad we did that because I didn't see much that caught my eye. Workers came around selling $15 snow cones, but I assured my kids that I'd buy them the cup for $8 at the Disney Store and they dropped it.

The show was wonderful, full of their favorite characters, lights and some faux fireworks, too.

Lola has grown up so much since last year, so she was into it far more. Miles was more into sitting back and admiring the production. Lots of smiles from our group, nonetheless.

On the topic of best friends

Mandy is my actual, functional, best friend. She is my best friend from childhood who has known me the longest and to this day, knows my deepest darkest secrets. I rely on her to be my rock, my cheerleader, my confidant and my partner in crime on a regular basis. We haven't always seen each other much more often than once or twice a year since she is a bit of a rambler (or has a history of being one) and has spent time living elsewhere, but we will always be on that level with each other. We are each a part of the others' families and we know each other in and out. She can see right through me and she isn't scared to call me out. Our husbands were fast friends and are hilariously, two peas in a pod. If she calls me out on something, I know it is for real and that I need to really think about what she said, because she knows me deep down to my soul. I'd give her a lung, a kidney or my bone marrow, and she knows it. She'd fly to Mexico in the middle of the night to kick some corrupt government booty and bail me out of jail. That's just the way we are. She has a couple of other best friends, and she would do that for them, too. The few other people that she counts as best friends have really different personalities, like apples and oranges, just like my short list.

I also have best friends from college that I rarely see but will always consider best friends. They are not all at the same point in their lives, so I can't hold it against them that our lives don't always correspond these days. I have two children; they either have zero or live an hour away. I have been married 8 years today; they either haven't walked down that aisle of life yet or they didn't marry someone that makes an effort to be a great friend to my husband. They still mean the world to me, but they aren't really filling that void at this point and they will never compare to someone that has grown up with me and is truly here for me when I need her. I know we'll be friends til we die, though, and that at one point, my life revolved around them, so they will remain what I consider a close friend or even one of my best friends.

I also have a few friends that are by far, my best friends in my momtourage. Shea and Jen are my main homegirls. I love them to death and I rely on them for certain things. I also know we will be friends outside of the mom role. I think Shea and I will be stalking Donny Whalberg at a retirement home, but she had two best friends before I ever met her, Juli and Sara, and that doesn't offend me. We're get each other on a different level. We are parents but still people. I couldn't make it through the daily grind without them.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that its hard to feel like you have hurt one person by calling another person your best friend when you don't mean any harm or insult, because I can't even begin to list all of the other people that are important to me. I didn't write this for any specific reason but just because I regularly see that as women, we (not meaning anyone listed here) don't always think it through when we get our feelings hurt. Agreed?

Good times in the 'Noog -OR- when Money married Ellen.

Phillip and I spent Saturday in Chattanooga. We ventured to the city on the river for a friend's wedding and had some good times, for sure. We attended the wedding of Jeremy and Ellen Money at the Convention Center. The ceremony was nice, and Ellen's dress was gorgeous. I really liked the style and the way part of it was gold. The train was nice, too!

Once we wished them well and sent them off, we all headed downtown to Market Street to spend some quality time at Deluxe. I liked Deluxe a lot. It reminded me of the downstairs of Sebastion's from many many years ago.

The night was really nice because we got a chance to visit with old friends that we rarely see and spouses or other friends that we're getting to know more and more. Some of the guys there this weekend are younger than me, thus from a different era at the Sigma Chi house, but we have mutual friends. We hope to see all of them more often now.

It was also nice because this was Phillip's first real opportunity to meet some of the guys that he's heard about for years. Well, only a few were there, really, Matt Hutton; Brian Nale (Anjeanetta's little bro) and Money, but still. Now he will truly know who I'm talking about when I refer back to silliness from college. There was a group of us that spent all of our time together back in the day, and we sorta grew up together. We were all great friends. These guys were part of that group, as were Missi, Kirby, Anjeaneatta, Mary Katherine, Flair, Patrick, Casey, Brackin, Alex Green, Bliss, Peanut, Stinky, Harper, Reed, Fuqua, Mickey, who am I forgetting?? I wish Patrick, a big part of the H127 puzzle, had traveled down for the weekend but alas, we'll catch him on his next trip. (H127 was our apartment number at Rosewood. It was three Chi Omegas who were also little sisters, and H127 served as the gathering place for a big group of people on a regular basis from 1997 to 1998.)

I know that when we're all old and gray, we'll still have each other as friends. We've all grown up to be good people, and we've created our own families that might one day get together for an Indian Summer road trip... and that sounds really nice to me. I also hope we get to have our very own 'Big Chill' one day, except nobody has to die to bring us all together for a weekend, but I digress.

Thanks for the memories, Money!