Buying Butter is No Laughing Matter

Unless you're shopping at Kroger.

I'm not sure my if feelings should be hurt or not...

*snort*

 

R.I.P. Gertrude

No, it's not another one of my pets. It's my glue gun. Poor thing. She was just worn out.I was getting more and more mad every time I used her. Which has been a lot of late. Sigh...I will miss you Gertru....



Wait a minute....



Well, hello there....I think I'll call her Glenda. ; )

(My husband picked her up at Wal-mart last night. Doesn't he rock?)

Just a Quick Post...

WOW.

That's all I can say about this weekend. All of it, really. But I don't have the time or energy to put on here all I want to. Oh, I'll post about it, just not at the moment.

What I DO have the time and energy to do is show you my rockin' hair. I wish I could have Hollie come do my hair every morning. Sigh...I guess with a husband and a baby that would be pretty impossible for her to do. Oh, well.

Is it not soooooo stinkin' cute? Can I say that about my own hair? I hope so, because I've been squealing about it since Friday. This picture was actually taken last night after she came early before the concert to fix it all purty.

Have I said I love it? Well, I do. Just so you know. You know, I'm feelin' a little sassy....

Mmm-hmm...

I'm such a goob.

What I'm looking forward to...

Here's what I'm looking forward to in the near future...

Tomorrow night:

Third CD recording. How funny is it that I haven't said a word about it, and by this time on the first recording I had posted about it ad nauseam? Kind of like how my older sister has lots of baby pictures and somehow when I was born it was like the camera broke? Maybe the novelty has worn off, but the excitement hasn't. It will be a fun night.This afternoon:

Lunch with Kat. Taco Bell, no less. Ahhh...can't wait. No, really, I can't. She and I don't get to spend nearly the time together we wish we could. Before Kiddo was born she and I would sometimes meet for lunch at her house (which was in our subdivision at the time) and eat Totino's pizza. Good times.

Also this afternoon:

I'm getting my hair done by our Worship Pastor's wife, Hollie. Not only is she drop dead gorgeous, she also has a very squishy almost-four-month old that I want to smooch. A lot. I hope he'll be there. Oh, and she does hair like nobody's business. She's never cut my hair but wanted to do it for my birthday. Woot! Who am I to say no? She's been so busy we're just now able to schedule it. That it falls the day before the concert is serendipitous.

In the near future:

High temps in the low 80's. Wait...that won't happen for another month. Sarah Mae said something on Facebook about the crisp air this morning. Yeah...she don't live in the South, baby. It was 80 degrees and muggy at 6 a.m. today. Humididty at 74%, and rising, I'm sure. My hair is going to grow bigger as the day goes on. So...yeah, I'm looking forward to decent temps. And gold, orange, red, purple leaves. Have I mentioned fall is my favorite season?

What are You looking forward to?

A Mother's Love

It might not be Mother's Day weekend, but this could quite possibly be the sweetest video ever. If you like dogs and cats, that is. If not, watch it anyway to be amazed at the leopard and baby baboon. It's amazing.

WAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!

Grammar and a Giveaway

I have a pet peeve. It's name is bad grammar.

Did you catch that I had not only one, but TWO mistakes in that last sentence? I should have said, "Its name is Bad Grammar."

My little pet isn't so little. Seems I'm not the only one who has this problem. That's okay...there is enough of it to go around. Alot.

HAHAHA! I did it again! A...lot. TWO WORDS PUH-LEEEZE! And that's not bad grammar, it's just my way of saying, "PUH-LEEEZE!"

I have wanted to do a post about it for a while, but one of my favorite bloggers, Richella, beat me to the punch. She is actually doing a whole series of posts about it. Be still my heart.

Not only is she teaching the world how to use grammar correctly, she is also teaching us why it should matter to us. In our "Idk my bff Jill" society, her lessons are sorely needed.

As much of a grammar snob as I sound, I actually posted a question for her. I had a good reason. See, she's having a cool giveaway to anyone who leaves a grammar question or pet peeve in the comment section. You'll have to find my comment to see what I asked. I'm mean like that.

Well, not actually, since I'm telling you to go over there and enter yourself. I could just keep it all to myself. It's a good thing Sound Man didn't hear about it or he would keep it to hisself.

AAAAAUUUUGGGHHHH!

That is the one that gets under my skin the most. Hisself. I made the mistake of telling Kiddo that, so he proceeded to say it every chance he got. Ick.

Sorry...something shiny grabbed my attention. Visit Richella at Imparting Grace and enter for your chance to win. But hurry...the giveaway is only open until Wednesday night!

My Current Favorite Commercial

Also known as...

"WAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

It gets me EVERY. TIME.

*sniff*

Please Stand By...

While this blogger has technical difficulties. Okay, maybe not technical, but sinusal. Or something like that.

I woke up Friday morning with the WORST sore throat and sinus headache. Normally, I'd jump up and call the doctor and get a sinus cocktail shot the same day. Well, the only problem with that is that Friday happened to be the day that our entire county shut down because a major ice storm was heading our way.

So, I had to wait until Monday. Ugh. Double ugh. But, I finally was able to go get my beloved shot and cough medicine and Z-pack and I'm a happy, although not quite completely healthy, camper.

When I feel like it, I will get to my pics of the beautiful, if disruptive, ice storm. To be so damaging, that stuff is so absolutely gorgeous. I can say that because I didn't have any damage to my trees or house. Other folks around the Memphis area weren't so lucky, having trees fall on their houses, branches fall through roofs, and other very not-beautiful things. I'm sure they wouldn't think the images I have are beautiful, but maybe you will.

Here's an image that makes me smile...and at the time warmed my heart. My big ol' puppy dog knew I wasn't feeling good and allowed me to snuggle with him just a minute...and only a minute. Right after this pic was taken he decided he had enough snuggle time with Momma. Oh, well...I take what I can get.

Okay, I have to go take my antibiotic now. *sssnnniiifff*

My New Glasses

It's been a while since I've had new glasses. Like 12 years. I'm not kidding.

In 1997 Sound Man worked for a company that had a line of eyeglasses that you could use for safety glasses and still look fashionable...particularly helpful if you worked in an industry that required you to wear them all day long. You could wear them instead of the really clunky, ugly safety glasses.

Anyway, they had some frames they were discontinuing and would be free to us if we got the lenses through this part of the company. The lenses were going to be either free or way cheap, too (I can't remember which at the moment...it WAS almost 13 years ago, after all). The only thing was, they had to be safety lenses. So they had these permanent little marks at the top that all safety glasses have to have, making me think there was always a smudge at the top of my glasses.

My point. What was my point? Oh yeah! So, I mostly wear my contacts. I have ever since I started wearing them in 7th grade. I never really needed a new pair of glasses since my prescription really didn't change much over the years. Well, my prescription my not have changed, but fashion certainly did.

I felt like I couldn't NOT wear my contacts out in public. My glasses were that out of style. I didn't have the freedom to just not stick my finger in my eye every morning. Not that I mind sticking my finger in my eye, but I'm just sayin'.

So, in a spur of the moment kind of thing, instead of getting contacts with my eye exam this year, I got what I've wanted for years...NEW GLASSES!

Here's what my old ones look like...

Don't you love my expression? That's the way I felt every time I wore these things. Notice the lovely way the color is peeling off the frame. Ugh.

And HERE'S my new glasses!

I LURVE THEM!

Sound Man couldn't wait for me to get them. I texted him a picture when I was trying them on and he couldn't wait for them to come in. He says they're sexy. I think he's crazy. But I love him for thinking it anyway.

Oh, and as a side note...don't you LOVE my toile shower curtain? Why I decided to take these pics in the bathroom I'm not sure but I'm glad I did so you can see it!

Anyway, just wanted to share my good fortune with you. My glasses and I are now going to go see what's going on on Facebook. Ha ha! Get it? SEE what's going on?

Nevermind.

Happy New Year!

Everyone seems to be putting up their "Best Of" post of 2009 today, so I guess I'll follow suit. Hmmm....what to choose...

Should it be...

Something about tassels?

or...

My first ever Linky Party?

or...

Accomplishments by Kiddo?

or...

My Epiphany?

or...

Heathahlee and Kat's Excellent Adventure?

I know you're probably thinking, "Come on! Get it over with!" And I will...tomorrow. Hee hee hee. I love to torture you.

Seriously, tomorrow I will reveal the post that I consider my favorite. I teared up reading it again just now, and it's been almost a year since I wrote it. I'm sure you've probably guessed WHO it's about, but you might not remember WHAT it's about. Stay tuned...

A Battery! A Battery! My Blog Post for a Battery!

If there is anyone that can tell me what that (very cheesy, gooby) title was inspired by, I will send them a Butterfly Genes bookmark, no kidding. But you have to tell me EXACTLY where it's found.

But that's not what this post is about. This post sounds not so vaguely like this post. Because I'm sitting with tons to tell you about, like Darlene's giveaway, and our SHE party (that's the name of our Women's ministry), and a WONDERFUL recipe (okay, I could probably post that, but what's a recipe without pictures?), but I can't post about all of it because my overworked camera battery died. You can bet batteries are going to be a tax write-off. Oh, and that's another thing I can't do. Load Etsy pics. I have THE cutest Santa tassel to load, but without pictures...well, it's not gonna happen without that battery.

So, what do you think I'm doing? Getting ready to go to the store? Nope...I'm staying nice and warm and have begged my husband to get the battery after work. Bless his heart, he spoils me rotten.

What did y'all do this weekend?

Well, I was PLANNING on going...

Warning: this post is not full of my normal cheerfulness and optimism (normal for my blog anyway...I never claimed to be cheerful and optimistic, did I?)...you have been warned.....

Have you heard about Blissdom '10? I was all excited about it. I was really excited about the hotel. I mean, I've loved the Opryland Hotel for ages and ages. It's unbelievable. Un-stinkin' believable. And we were going to get a great group rate of $125. The excitement built.

Then, I read how much it was going to cost. Um, what happened to our $100 cost last year? I mean, I didn't go to the conference, but I do remember the early bird price was $100, and the day-of-the-conference price was still only $150.

So, with sadness, I have to say that my plans are changed. I can't justify spending almost $400 (and that's just for lodging and conference...doesn't include food!), even if it will be an absolutely amazing conference.

For those of you who are going, I will miss you. Maybe Kat and I will come stalk you again.

I'm saving my pennies for Relevant. I guess that's the Lord's way of showing me that it was foolish to try to fit both conferences into my crazy schedule.

Confessions of a Germaphobe

Hello. My name is Heather. I am a Germaphobe.

I pour Germ-x on restaurant tables, wiping off the surfaces, and if I have to touch the chair or food tray, I slather the stuff on my hands, too. I hold ketchup bottles and salt shakers with paper towels. When I go to the store, I ALWAYS use the anti-bacterial wipes when they're available. And when they're not, I IMMEDIATELY use Germ-x when I finish up. Need I say more?

I admit it. Gladly. I mean, who wants to be sick? I will do just about anything to keep from getting sick, even to the point of wearing disposable gloves while tending to my up-chucking son. When he looked at my hands and said, "Why are you wearing gloves, Momma?" I felt kind of bad. But I didn't take the gloves off.

So, today, I tried yet again to instill a healthy fear of germs (and/or viruses) into my son. We were at the grocery store to pick up a few things when we both had to go to the bathroom. When he came out, I asked him if he had opened the door with his bare hands after washing them. He had. So, I made him go back to the bathroom to wash them again. When he came out, I asked him if he had turned the faucet off and gotten a paper towel with his bare hands. Yes, he had. So I made him go back to the bathroom and wash them again, after instructing him to pull the paper towels down (you know, the pumping kind of dispenser), turn the faucet on, wash his hands, use the paper towel to dry his hands THEN turn the faucet off THEN open the door.

After the first time I sent him back he said I was a germaphobe. I told him that I was unashamedly one and that he better be one, too, or he would end up losing his cookies at some point. At first he said he'd rather do that than wash his hands again, but then he came to his senses and washed his hands for the third time.

So, how germaphobic are you? Am I crazy? OCD? I'll think about it some more and get back to you. After I change my facemask.

There is Hope for this GRITS

Have y'all seen that acronym? GRITS? It stands for Girls Raised in the South. And I am proudly a GRITS. That sounds funny but you can't really say I'm a GRIT because then it would just be Girl Raised in the.... See? It's not grammatically correct, but this time I'm okay with it.

Having rambled on about that, let me say that during my adult life I have almost felt like an impostor in my own country. Now, don't get me wrong...I can talk the talk with the best of them, and I do lurve pinto beans and corn bread (and turnip greens and corn bread? Oh. My....love that, too!). I even like grits (the real thing this time) on occasion. But there was one Southern staple that I just didn't like. Couldn't make myself like, no matter how I tried.

Tomatoes.

(insert collective gasp from all other "good" Southerners out there)

I know, I know. Just call me Ouiser Boudreaux. But trust me; I have tried to like them, and have even made it to where I can eat them if they are cooked in something; I even like chunky tomatoes in my spaghetti and chili. But if you get a tomato near my hamburger or club sandwich, heaven help you. I don't even like to take them off the sandwiches because tomato slime always lingers. I thought I was destined to be the Southern girl with the dirty secret. (Okay, it's not so secret...there are plenty of servers in restaurants who have faced my "displeasure" at having a tomato tarnish my good food)

Then, Momma came to stay with us for a couple of weeks. She had been craving a BLT for a month, and nothing the hospital had could even compare. So, we planned our menu around having bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches one night. Sound Man got it all prepared, even cutting the tomatoes really, really thin. I think he was being optimistic that I might actually try one.

Well, lo and behold, I actually wanted to try one. So, I put mayonnaise on my bread, layered lots of lettuce and bacon, and gingerly placed a thinly sliced tomato on my sandwich. And took a bite.

You know what? I. LIKED. IT. No, I mean, I reeeeeeeally liked it!

This was taken after I had eaten half the sandwich and realized I HAD to blog about this astonishing revelation!

I ate this second half, then ate another half of one. I couldn't believe it, and neither could my husband or mother. They didn't give me too hard a time, for fear of jinxing the whole thing.

Now, just 'cause I've fallen for the culinary delight of a good BLT doesn't mean I'm going to stop ordering my Mexican pizza at Taco Bell "with NO tomatoes, PLEASE!" Or I'm going to go totally crazy and start eating tomato sandwiches (bread, mayo, tomato, a little sprinkling of salt) like my husband does when his dad gives him some fresh tomatoes from his garden.

But I've made progress. There is hope for me yet.

How to Pronounce My Name

Over a year ago I posted about where my name came from, but because I've either read or heard people discussing how to pronounce it, I figured revisiting the subject would be appropriate, since I have several new friends. Yippee! I'm so happy y'all are here! I will try my best not to use exclamation points in all my sentences!

Let me start by saying that I have lived around Memphis, Tennessee all of my life. That would be smack in the middle of the South. I love living in the South. I love the hot summers, I love the mild winters, I love the food, I love the kudzu...wait, no, I don't love the kudzu. Anyway, I love almost everything about living in the South. Including the drawl. Especially the drawl.

Now, I'm not talking about sounding like a country hick. There's a part in Gettysburg where two captured Confederate soldiers are talking to C. Thomas Howell and one says, "We're fightin' for are rats!" Translation: "We're fighting for our rights!" No, not that drawl. That's not even a drawl. That's just wrong.

No, the drawl I'm talking about is that Old South, genteel drawl that Hollywood can never get right. Well, not many around here have that. I don't. Now, I do have a Southern Accent. Ask Kimba or Sarah Mae or anyone from up North who has actually spoken to me. Personally, I don't think it's as pronounced as it evidently is. When I spent two months in Australia, however, every new place I went I was asked to just say, "Hi" and have people just ooh and ah over my silly accent.

Sorry, I got off track. My point is, my Daddy and his siblings all have that lovely Southern drawl. Here's a quick lesson in how to speak Suthuhn: Never say your "R's"

Butter = buttuh
Tower = towah
Junior = juniah

"Ah" and "uh" can be used most of the time interchangeably, as long as it doesn't sound like you're trying to speak New Jersy-ese.

My cousins used to have a sentence they'd say that summed up my daddy's accent: Heathah, throw the buttuh out the winduh with the Whoppah Juniah." And then we'd all crack up.

That's the way he says my name. Instead of "Heather", it's "Heathah". And when I was little and got in trouble (you know in the South - maybe in the North, too, for that matter - when our kids get in trouble we have to say both their first and middle names), and since my middle name is Lee, it came out, "HeathahLee!" I put both names together because that's the way he said them. All one word.

I was explaining this to some friends from church one day (I have no idea how we got started on the subject), when one of them said, "You are SO gonna be Heathahlee from now on!" And it stuck.

So, there you have it. How to pronounce my name. I wanted to be something more than just "Heather" on here. I figured this was a pretty good use of my name with my own little twist on it.

Got any stories about your Blogger name?

Coming Soon...

I am a spaz. I know that. I can hardly connect two sentences together to make a coherent statement. I have sorely neglected my blog over the last few weeks. Months, more like it. Getting ready for the A'Fair had me "flat out like a lizard drinking" as they say in Tasmania. I'm not exactly sure what that means literally, but basically I was reeeeally busy. And my mind has been busy since then. I have some surprises for y'all coming up this weekend.

I am so excited about what is going on around my little blog. Not that I think I'm suddenly going to become the next Susie Harris or Nester or Kimba, but I hope to actually take my blog to another level. I do enjoy it so much. I hope you enjoy reading the crazy things I write. Stay tuned for some sweet things this weekend. Sound Man and I have been up until midnight most nights getting ready for what's to come. You might not think it's a big deal, but for us it is. I hope to even have a little sumpn' sumpn' for y'all. I'll keep you posted. HA! I made a funny! Get it? Posted? And I POST things on the blog? Poste...nevermind.

You know you live around Memphis when...

One day it's 70 something degrees and a few days later you're dealing with this:

Not to mention dealing with crazy people on the roads flocking to the grocery store. This would be the second time (of the TWO times we've had snow) that I've scheduled my regular grocery shopping at the SAME TIME that all the crazy people decide to go stock up on milk and bread.

And then there's this...

Don't ask me where you live to get these crazies outside your door.

Hee hee hee.

More pictures later!

2008 Year in Review

Okay, seems like everyone is doing a recap of their blogs for 2008. So, since I'm such a follower (more about that later), I'll jump on the bandwagon, too.

I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed blogging with and for you people. How can a person care so much about people she's never met? Well, I do care about y'all. Each one of you has opened my eyes to new things, and for that I am so grateful.

Okay, enough of the mushy stuff. On to the recap. Or whatever.

April 14 - It begins. Since that was basically just a test run, I'll link my second and third posts, which explain why in the world I have such a weird name for my blog, and why I have such a Southern sounding name.

Also in April came my love for bird eggs. It started here and continued with this. You have to watch the video in the second post. It's so sweet. Now, newborn baby birds are NOT cute, but it is beautiful to watch anyway.

Next came May, and if you've seen my "Beware the Cone" picture off to the left, that post was written in honor of another May happening. Go ahead. It's okay to read and laugh at my expense.In June, I started my Australia Posts, where I reminisced about my two-month long trip there the summer of 1991. If you'd like to read them all, click on the subject in my "The Silly Things I Talk About" side bar that says "Australia."June also brought about one of my favorite blog subjects, "My Husband Rocks! Fridays", started by Katy Lin. I get to brag and brag about my husband every Friday and tell the world that not all married women like to bash their husbands and talk bad about them. I wish there were so many more things I could do to honor my husband, but this one little thing is a tiny part of reminding myself what a wonderful man I have been blessed with.

July brought about a couple of crafting posts, which you can see here for the tissue paper decorations and here for the imperfectly beautiful pillow.

In August I won my first giveaway, which coincided nicely with my birthday. It's nice when things coincide nicely. I also got a blog makeover, recorded a CD, and got a dog.

Who, by the way, is now about 3000 times the size he is in this picture.

September brought about the spotlight on Mississippi on Blog Around the World, as well as my 100th post.

October was pretty uneventful but then November came and with it, more recording.
As well as some deer meat in my freezer, thanks to my mighty hunter.

And then came December, filled to the brim with Kiddo's birthday and all things Christmas.

Thanks to all of you who read my blog. You know how much it means to be read...it's being validated for the thoughts and dreams and creativity you lay out for all the world to see. Scary sometimes, but so worth it. I love you, my Bloggy Friends!

This does not help my obsession with snowmen

A Spooky Little Something

Since we generally don't celebrate Halloween except for letting Kiddo get dressed up to go to a few houses to get his yearly supply of sugar, I haven't posted ANYTHING about it on my blog. I have enjoyed looking at everyone else's decorations, though, and thought that if I did decorate for Halloween, I'd be sure to copy all these fabuloso decorators.

I did want to post something normally saved for Halloween, but with a twist. So, here's my contribution to the Spooky holiday...

Can you guess what it is yet?

How 'bout now?

Yep, it's a spider web, and this handsome (?) fellow was the one building it. A few weeks ago, before it got really chilly at night, there were two of these guys building webs just outside our back door. My Sweet Husband was the braver one of the two of us since I can't be within three feet of a spider without having apoplexy. I think I may have braved it outside for a minute or two before my fear got the best of me. But take a look at these pictures...

When our rambunctious 4 month old puppy galloped out the back door, he dislocated one of the web's anchors, making the rest of the web fly around haphazardly. The spider didn't panic, he just zipped back down (you can see the reflection of the flash in the tiny sliver of web close to the top) and anchored it back, then zipped back up to repair the damage. Problem solved.

This is probably my favorite picture. Aside from the fact that this web was HUGE (the spider in the middle is about the size of a quarter, maybe just a hair bigger), I thought this was one of the most beautiful creations I've ever seen. Look at the colors brought out by the flash of the camera. It's like a rainbow in a spider's web. Did you know spider silk has prisms on it? I didn't.

This looks like he's floating in mid-air, but I think this was one of the shots of him fixing his web. It's a really cool picture though, don't you think? As cool as spider pictures go.

What I want to convey to you is this...not a creepy, crawly, scary Halloween message...I wanted to show you that even in the things that we think are scary, ugly creatures, our Creator made beauty. Did you see the intricate design on that spider in the first picture of him? Or how about the beauty of the web? What if we lived life like that spider did, knowing that when disaster is knocking down our security, we don't panic but trust that our Creator gave us what we need to get through it?

So have fun tonight. Eat lots of candy. Take pictures of your Kiddos. But remember that God is in control, no matter how spooky life becomes.