Secret, Secret, I've Got a Secret

Ok. Jana did a posting about this a while back and I thought I would do the same. Let's talk secrets today.

-I have a little crush on Zac Efron.
-Yes, he's half my age.
-Yes, I just admitted that an adult is half my age.
-Anytime 13 Going on 30 comes on television, I have to watch it.
-Speaking of movies, one of my favorite movies is Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan.
-On my first date EVER, I fell off a curb in front of the two entire high school football teams with a full stadium watching. My hatian bag purse spilled all over the floor. Among other things, out came a hairdryer and feminie products. I should have taken that as a sign of dating dramas to come.
-I used to go rollerskating every Sunday night to Christian music when I was in high school. As a friend once said, "yeah, man, we're skating for God."
-Sometimes, I just need a minute.
-I'm Walkin' on Sunshine is my favorite song.
-Sometimes I listen to my son's CD's in the car when he's not there.
-I sing karaoke in my house when I'm alone (and sometimes when I'm not)...mostly old Bon Jovi stuff
-At my surprise 16th birthday party, I was wearing a teal shirt with pineapples on it, a fedora, a diamond in one ear and a cross in the other, stretch pants that were rolled up AND was quoted on video as saying, "Oh, my, I'm so surprised! Thank god, I dressed up!"

Anything you want to share?

The Ancient Art of Reading Books

I read this article yesterday that made me so sad. It said that one in four Americans did not read ANY books last year. Not sure if I was more shocked that it was 25% of the country or that the number wasn't higher.

In my own home, my darling hubby can be counted in the 25%. Actually, the last book I remember Jon reading was Seabiscuit and that was in 2002. Now, Jon loves the newspaper and we are avid readers of that but books, for some reason cannot hold his interest.

Even I have found my reading slowing down. BK (before kids) I always had a book going. Now, that precious sleep is more enticing. I think that I have only read five books this year.

With so much information being fed to us via computers and television, it is not surprising that reading something that does not have pictures attached to it causes too much stress on your brain. I mean, where would we be if we did not get to see "art" with our stories. What? Have to imagine what a collapsed bridge looks like? What? Have to imagine what Lindsey Lohan was wearing when she wrecked her car?

Even so many books are being turned into movies. I'm all supportive of that, truth be told. I kind of like to think of it as a different perspective on the story. Heaven only knows that they never follow what happens in the book, anyway. The book is always more of a guide to the characters than the actual storyline of a movie. AND yes, I always read the book before going to the movie.

But have they gone too far? I read recently, that they are making a movie from The Daring Book for Boys. They are somehow making a movie from a book that shows you how to make go-carts. Huh?

Back to our house. Jon and I do read to Jack every night. Every single night without fail. We even read to Eva, but she just likes eating the pages now. Soon, though, we'll begin our family reading time.

I have always felt that one of the greatest lessons you can teach your child is to have them see you reading a book to instill the importance of using your imagination. I sure hope that is true for our kids.

Sunday Scribblings--Goosebumps

My view from the swing








It is funny, this week's Sunday Scribblings was exactly what I was thinking about posting today.

I spent the last four wonderful days with my Mother and two sisters (sans kids...wahoo! and a shout-out to Jon!) in Asheville, NC. For those who have never been there, I highly recommend it. We stayed in a beautiful B&B on a hill called Chateau on the Mountain (thanks Jean and Lee!) and just relaxed, hiked, shopped, ate and drank wine the entire weekend. Pretty much perfection.

So, one morning, I could not sleep and I woke up at 5am. Not wanting to wake Mother and my sisters, I went outside to sit in a swing and watch the sun rise over the mountains. As I sat, hearing nothing but the sound of cicadas and the eventual sound of birds chirping, I got goosebumps at the beauty of it all. It was my private moment. No one tugging on me asking questions, no one screaming and asking me to pick her up. Just me in the swing.

Before I had Jack, Jon and I took a babymoon to Anquilla and St. Martin. My happy place was always that day on Anguilla when I sat between two palm trees in a hammock on the ocean and read a book in its entirety. I do not know that that day can ever be topped, but this was pretty close. I was very happy to add another "happy" place to my arsenal.

So, here's my question of the day. Where is your happy place?


Dozier women take on the Blue Ridge Parkway!

National Night Out

Tonight was National Night Out. Our neighborhood brought out a firetruck. I thought that Jack would be in heaven. He was so funny and asked the firemen to show him everything on the truck. "What's that for?" "Why does the nice fireman use that hose?" "What is in that door?" It was nice to have someone else have to answer questions for once.



Jack drives the truck.


Jack and Daddy sit on the back.


Jack and the "nice firemen."


Eva just hangs out.

Sunday Scribblings

#71 - Decision
The prompt for this week is: Decision. I hope you make it a good one!

Each week, my BFF Jana goes to this website called Sunday Scribblings (www.sundayscribblings.blogspot.com). It is a site that gives you a topic to blog about. I've been enjoying hers for quite some time. I've made a decision to start to blog each week (if I can) with the topic.

So, this weekend's topic, oddly enough, is decisions. I thought alot about what to say with this topic. Should I talk about decisions that shaped my life? About the time that I went to Pat O'Brien's and met my husband? Or when we went to F&M's and Jana met hers? Or about the time I walked past a visiting colleague's office on my way home, went back to introduce myself, and through her ended up meeting some of the best friends I have? Or about the time I quit my job in Atlanta on the fly and moved back home to Virginia to live with my beloved Grandfather to finish my education?

There are so many small decisions you make in a day. Who knows how many of those seeming inconsequential decisions change the course of your life forever?

Craigslist.org

Now, I know that everyone talks about how great Craigslist is, but I have to say, I heart craigslist. It has changed so much for the way that people advertise things.

For those not familiar, it is a free local posting. You can find anything on it. You can check it out by going to craigslist.org and looking to the right to click on your area.

Take for example, we had a garage sale this weekend. We sold SO much stuff, it was unbelievable. We were very happy with the results. I could not believe what we sold. Credit to Jon, we sold a bag of torn towels that we were going to throw away for $2 as "shop rags". Man, people will buy anything, that's for sure.

The greatest things about the sale were that 1-I did not have to pay for a listing in the newspaper, we had MANY folks come by who had seen my listing on craigslist. 2-I did not have to negotiate the price of any of the big stuff. Once the sale was over, I just took some pics of our big items that did not sell and put them on craigslist. In one day, we have nearly sold everything adding an additional $250 to our total.

The sale got rid of all the small stuff in our garage, and craigslist got the rest of it AT our asking price with no negotiation.

Gotta love the internet.