Fall is Here!

Every year I realize just how much I LOVE fall!! Today is a PERFECT example...I just love the cool, overcast days with all the fall smells...Right now I'm burning a Yankee Candle "Candied Apple" tart and sitting here with the window open...I just love it!! Can't wait to put me a couple of pumpkins out on the front porch! For a moment I can simply take in the feeling of fall and forget all the craziness of this fast-paced life...

So my parents are closing on their house tomorrow morning at 9:00. We went down there last night and everything is all packed up and ready to go! They have to be out of the house today so my hubby and sis are going to load the truck at 11:45 this morning.

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Oh wait. My dad just backed the 24 foot moving truck into the corner of the front porch. Bricks are falling in on the inside and the outside and nobody has any idea what to do.

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Welcome to my life. Can anything EVER just go as planned?

Not Me, Monday!

A couple of weeks ago my blogger buddy, MckMama, created a hilarious post about all the things she "did not" do in the past few days...Of course, the post was totally sarcastic and left many of us laughing our heads off! What ensued was a craziness of commenters listing their own "did not"s...Made for some pretty funny reading! - And has now led to the first official "Not Me, Monday!"



I saw they post this morning about "Not Me, Monday" but didn't have time to think of something to post myself...And in all actually I may not have even come back to post one now had I not just had a TOTAL "Not Me!" moment only to realize it (and call it what it was!) as soon as it happened!

So here's my confession for the hour...

No, I did not just walk out to the mailbox and put the mail BACK IN when I realized it was all just bills!! Super organized, Type A ME would NEVER do such a thing!

Movie Review Sunday!

So while on vacation we took the time to catch up on some movie watching! Thought we'd share with you our thoughts on the ones we watched!

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"Definitely, Maybe" - A political consultant tries to explain his impending divorce and past relationships to his 11-year-old daughter.

Jenn – Overall, a good movie….The storylines surrounding each of the past relationships is interesting, but after bouncing back and forth so many times you start to wonder if there’s going to be an end in sight!

Matt – Surprisingly good…Unusual storyline, but a good movie!

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"Meet Bill" - A guy fed up with his job and married to a cheating wife reluctantly mentors a rebellious teen.

Jenn – Actually kinda funny…Odd, but funny!

Matt – A few holes in the plot, but kinda funny in a “could-life-suck-anymore” kind of way!

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"Ratatouille" - Remy is a young rat in the French countryside who arrives in Paris, only to find out that his cooking idol is dead. When he makes an unusual alliance with a restaurant's new garbage boy, the culinary and personal adventures begin despite Remy's family's skepticism and the rat-hating world of humans.

Jenn – Another great Pixar movie! Never had a crazy desire to watch it before, but once it started it was really easy to get into!

Matt – Very entertaining!

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"Made of Honor" - A guy in love with an engaged woman tries to win her over after she asks him to be her maid of honor.

Jenn – Of course it’s a typical chick flick, but it’s a fun movie to watch…Pretty funny too!

Matt – Does providing my review admit that I watched it?? The previews made this out to be a total chick flick – which it was – but McDreamy was far less of a woman than I was expecting him to be in this movie…Pretty good if you have to watch i!

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"The Bucket List" - Two terminally ill men escape from a cancer ward and head off on a road trip with a wish list of to-dos before they die.

Jenn – Not one to watch when you’re having a bad week! Somewhat depressing, but overall the story is good and doesn’t totally leave you wanting to jump off a bridge! Both of the actors were really good…The movie wouldn’t have been nearly as good without the two of them!

Matt – Heartwarming…Surprise twist at the end – You know what’s going to happen, but they still surprise you!

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"The Great Debaters" - A drama based on the true story of Melvin B. Tolson, a professor at Wiley College Texas. In 1935, he inspired students to form the school's first debate team, which went on to challenge Harvard in the national championship.

Jenn – A very good, historical movie. The plot moves quickly and there’s enough action to keep it interesting!

Matt – Denzel Washington is the man. Well-done movie – A very touching perspective on racism in the old South.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jog.

So we're home. And I'm really having a hard time with it...Just looked back through all our pictures and I can't comprehend that we were JUST there...In such a beautifully amazing place. Now that I'm sitting here on the couch (with some happy kitties all over me!) and listening to football in the background it seems like we never left! I hate it! I don't want it all to be just memories...And I definitely don't want the memories to just fade over time...I want to remember (and feel) every little detail of every moment of the past week...

Wow. Now I'm about to cry. Don't feel like talking about it anymore right now. And you're not even gonna get a picture. Sorry. Will try again later.

Seventh Day of Vacation!

It's all dark out our wonderful window as I write this final post from West Palm...This time tomorrow night we'll be chillin on our own couch in the wonderful AUG watching the Georgia game!

To wrap up our week our great weather we had one last sunny day! Unlike the rest of the week though, today was exceptionally "breezy" and the ocean was crazy rough!

Not too much excitement today...We really just wanted to spend as much time as we could relaxing on the beach, reading and enjoying the view!

For dinner, as crazy as it seems, we went right back to the Crab House...And both ordered the same exact things we had last night too! It's just so good!! And I'm telling ya, you just can't beat the view!



Well, we're all packed up now and about to watch our last movie...(This will be our 6th movie this week! Reviews to come later!) but I'll leave you with a few fun pics we took out on the beach last night!

Sixth Day of Vacation!!

Like I said earlier, sorry for not posting a "Fifth Day of Vacation" but I'll try to catch you up now!

Let's see...Yesterday...Oh yeah! We went out on a ride through the intercoastal waterway with our Captain and Tour Guide, Captain Ron!


Captain Ron rocks! We took this tour last time we were here and were so excited when we boarded the boat to see Captain Ron waiting for us again this year!

After our tour, we spent the afternoon by the pool and walking on the beach...For dinner, we went back to the marina to enjoy our meal with a nice view!


Also, on a side note, the water seemed especially "tropical" yesterday...Here's a pic of the water from our balcony...




Now! Here we are at today!!

At noon, we had Captain Ron drop us off over at Peanut Island to do a little snorkeling. This was a first for me, but it was SO much fun! You'd be standing there in the water and everything looks normal, but as soon as you stick your face in you realize there's TONS of fish swimming all around you!! All different kinds of fish too! It was so crazy!! We used a disposable waterproof camera to take some underwater pictures and are hoping to get them developed tonight...

We got back here to the resort about 2ish and spent a little while out on the beach and are now getting ready for dinner! Tonight we're going to the Crab House! (That was our other favorite restaurant from last time and it's on the water right next to Jetty's!)

So while I've been sitting here blogging away, my fabulous husband did a little "house cleaning!" Somehow we'd managed to let it get a little out of control...As in, TUESDAY night's spaghetti was still in a pot on the stove and on our plates in the sink! INSANITY, I know! I'm really glad he cleaned it all up though!

Unfortunately it's getting to the point in our wonderful vacation where the reality of going home is starting to set in...I always tend to get kinda depressed and sentimental at the end of a long vacation. At the beginning of the week I actually thought that maybe I'm just a homebody and vacationing's just not for me...I kinda missed the "routine" of our busy everyday life, but those crazy thoughts didn't last long after we got settled in and started relaxing! In the beginning it seemed like the week was going to last forever...(I can dream, can't I?!) but already it's Thursday evening...I know coming home's inevitable, and I'll be glad to see our babies and our own bed, but I also know that the next three weeks are gonna be pretty rough! First off, my parents are moving next Thursday night/Friday. Normally that would be enough craziness in and of itself, but to top it off, Matt will be working at the church every night next week and I'll probably be working late and on the weekends until October 10th! Last week at work we found out we have 3 weeks to have our 2009 budget complete and submitted...(Normally you're given a minimum of 6 weeks and it takes all 40 hours a week for all 6 of those weeks to get it done!) Yeah...so that's that! Nothing we can do about it all except do it and get through it! And like I keep telling myself, it's really only THREE weeks and then life should settle down again! Before we know it the holidays will be here!!

Well, this is turning into quite a long post so I'm going to cut myself off and go watch this storm that's rolling in off the ocean!

Sorry no post y/day...But I AM on VACATION ya know!!

Off to go snorkeling!!

Will update later!!

Fourth Day of Vacation!

Another sunny, sunny day here in Florida! We've been out on the beach most of the day, but are now just chilling out and taking a break from the sun!

The excitement of our day thus far was Matt's "Baracuda" sighting...Yes, he saw a real live Baracuda staring him down in the water this morning! I've kinda been giving him a hard time about it and telling him it was probably just a stick, but secretly I might just believe him! He described it right on and his description matched the picture we looked up on the internet...It even said that Baracudas are predatory and just sit back and watch you...That's exactly what Matt said when he saw it...He said he just looked over (remember, the water's incredibly clear here) and it was looking up at him, but when he jumped (and squeeled!) it scared Mr. Cuda away!

Here's a pic in case you haven't personally seen any Baracudas lately! (This isn't OUR Cuda but it's just like the one Matt saw!)


And then here's me...Just relaxing with a good book! ("The Choice" by Nicholas Sparks)

Third Day of Vacation!

Today was HOT! Very very HOT! Usually we'll make a trip up to the pool to cool off, but a couple of times today, in desperation, we actually went straight to the closest body of water...The ocean! Typically we don't do more than about 2 inches of ocean water, but down here the water is so clear and gets deep so fast that it doesn't seem as "bad." Even when you're up to your shoulders you can see every tiny little shell at your feet...It's so clear!

Tonight we spent the evening downtown...The Cheesecake Factory for dinner and then a little photography fun at the fountains...

And now we're in for the night...With three delicious looking slices of cheesecake just begging to be eaten! Vanilla Bean, Key Lime, & Lemon Raspberry! (And no, there's no way in the world we could eat all three huge slices in one sitting...But they'll definitely make for some good late night snacks the rest of the week!)

Second Day of Vacation! (Continued...)

Tonight we had dinner at one of our two favorite restaurants on the intercoastal waterway at Jupiter Inlet. Dinner was quite yummy (Hawaiian Chicken) and afterwards we played around on the docks taking a few pictures...

Back at the resort, we spent a little time at the hot tub with a "Tropical Delight" and are now settling in for the evening with a movie...

Looking forward to another sunny day out on the beach tomorrow!!

Second Day of Vacation!

Happy Sunday from West Palm Beach!
What a great day we've had here! Beautifully sunny and not too miserably hot!

Last time we were here (for our honeymoon!) we felt like losers dragging our ghetto old beach chairs out on the beach everyday...One day when we abandoned them during a storms, we even came back to find that the lifeguards had thrown them in the trash pile! Well, this year we decided we were going to leave our sad little chairs at home to avoid any undue embarrassment. We'd toyed with the idea of renting the nice chairs and umbrella they always set up out there, but knew they tend to be a little pricey...So this morning we head out and stare lustily at the comfy chairs as we lay down on our little towels in the sand...For about five minutes until we broke down and gave in! And boy was it worth it! These chairs are so dang comfy and they're officially ours for the week!

First Day of Vacation!

Yippee!! After a long summer we are finally here at West Palm Beach! Our trip down was great! The drive to Atlanta was uneventful and everything went quite well at the airport...Our flight was pretty great too! We played a nice, friendly game of Phase 10 to kill an hour and before we knew it we were landing!! Flying into Palm Beach International was really cool because we descended over a very residential area. It was so crazy to see all these neighborhoods from "up above!" And the funny thing was how you could see the tons of houses that had pools and all the different shapes!

So I'll leave you with a few pictures from the flight and one of the view I currently have out our window while we watch the Georgia game!

So I'm going to SAY that we're done packing and it's time to get ready for bed, but I know that's really not the case...As soon as I sit down on the couch I'm going to think of 3 more things I need to get up and get...And then when I sit down AGAIN I'll think of 5 MORE things I hadn't previously thought of! And so the cycle will continue well into the night as I attempt to fall asleep...Oh well!! Guess I better go ahead and get the whole process started...The morning will be here soon! Write to you tomorrow from the BEACH!

Last night we kept Grey & Jackson while Andy & Wendie went to a meeting. Always an adventure!

First off, Jackson was NOT a happy camper when he woke up from his nap! We thought it was just because mommy wasn't home, but after 30 minutes of uncosolable crying we shoved a few green beens in his mouth and realized he was obviously very very hungry! There was no way I was going to risk upsetting him again by carrying him to the table and strapping him in his seat so we just had a nice little picnic in the middle of the floor!

Afterwards, with two happy little boys, we headed outside to play for a while. Grey and Matt invented a game where Matt would throw berries (aka - pompoms) up the driveway and then him and Grey would "catch" them as they rolled back down...

Jackson, on the other hand, was content just toddling around the driveway and opening and closing the front door!

Then at some point, Grey discovered a patch of grass that needed to be raked IMMEDIATELY!

Once back inside, Jackson had a bath and both boys had a snack. While Grey and I were snuggled up on the couch to watching "Wonder Pets", somehow Jackson managed to quietly sneak off and a little while later I looked around the corner to find this...

Uh oh! Looks like somebody got caught!!

So that was out Tuesday night...Now it's Wednesday and it looks like it's going to be a pretty boring one at that! Is Saturday EVER going to get here!?!

With the weekend behind us, the countdown begins to West Palm Beach! Our excitement is building by the day especially that we now know we'll be in the clear from Hurricane Ike! -And yesterday's incredible hot temps here made me realize that we probably have no reason to worry that it will be "cold" at the beach! (In fact, it'll probably be just as hot as it was last time we were there in May of 2004!)

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The only thing I'm sorta stressing about is the whole flying process (Note I said the "process" not the actual FLIGHT). We're flying out of Atlanta and I'm just not familiar with how to do everything (and what all we actually have to do!) or how to get from one place to the next...I just got a basic run through from a friend, but I have the feeling I'm going to need to hear it at least once a day between now and Saturday! (This IS coming from the person who had the entire MARTA system mapped out and scheduled weeks ahead of time when we were going to the Women's Conference in Atlanta!) I just need to know EXACTLY what I need to do and the specific means of accomplishment! I'm a very "visual" person...There's a very distinct possibility that by Saturday morning I will have memorized every Atlanta airport terminal layout and will be able to tell you exact locations of any given food/beverage and retail establishments!

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But until then, my mind is constantly thinking through every possible item that we MAY need while on vacation. For instance, the thing that's been on my mind for a few days is a colander. I"m seriously concerned as to whether or not our condo will have a colander. I mean, we'll probably want to make spaghetti one night (seeing as that's basically the only meal we know how to cook!), but what if I open the cabinet to find pots and pans, but no colander!? So do I need to pack OUR colander?? Typically I would without even thinking twice, but since we're flying this time we're limited to only what can fit in our luggage!! AGH! (And trust me, my colander example is only one of MANY!!)

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So now it's almost the end of workday number 1! Time to figure out some dinner, head home, start some laundry and get a plan together for this gigantic packing endeavor!!

And the rat race is underway! I left work at 5:00 (well, of course it was actually 4:45!) and ran to Old Navy to "kill" a few minutes before Matt got off work...An hour and $150 LATER I picked up Matt and we headed over to the mall to get him some sunglasses for the beach and grab a bite to eat. Afterward, we made a quick trip down to the parents to get a few more things ready for the yard sale. Now I'm home for a few minutes waiting for my cream cheese squares to bake so I can take them over the sis' house tonight just in case I'm running late in the morning...Hopefully my mind will slow down at some point tonight because it's gonna be pretty rough getting up at 5am to get down there to start the yard sale! Then the madness continues as I'll be heading back out this way for a friend's baby shower at 11:00 and then a student ministry meeting at 1:00!! Luckily the Georgia game starts at 3:30 and we have plans to be home by then and have a nice enjoyable evening!

Whew! Gonna be a busy weekend!

And just in case you've never smelled silver cleaner, I can assure you that yes, it does indeed smell like rotten eggs mixed with cat diarhea! Gag!! MUST FIND FRESH AIR!!