Heads Carolina, Tails California...

Ok, to be honest, California was not a contender in the first place. With all the "stuff" in my personal life going on, a thoughtful friend sent me gas money for my birthday with orders to go visit my other friend, LeAnn, in SC. Talk about an offer you can't refuse!

My actual birthday was not nearly as bad as I anticipated - so many folks made me feel special and loved!

The day after (the 27th), around noon, I started my trek to SC. The drive was not bad at all until I hit Atlanta at rush hour. Not that there is ever a good time to drive in Atlanta. Mercy.

Finally, I arrived safe and sound at LeAnn's apartment! I was so happy to just walk in there and plop all my stuff down. I was exhausted, not just from the drive, but from not getting enough sleep the night before. We just chilled on the couch and chit chatted for hours. It was so nice to catch up. Aside from a brief interval when she had a layover in Nashville on her way to Wisconsin, I had not seen her face to face in almost two years! But it's so wonderful to have those friendships where you can just pick up where you left off, you know?

She had made me a birthday cake, and that might have made me a little bit teary. As cheesy as it is, Josh always made sure I had my favorite birthday cake for my birthday... I really thought this year would pass without any cake at all, and what is a birthday without cake?!



It was lemon, and it was goooood.

Saturday morning, we were up bright and early to head to a nearby Farmer's Market so I could meet her friend Kim. Kim and I have been FB friends for quite some time, and I had been dying to try some of the delicious food she is always making. Imagine my surprise when we got there and she had a little birthday gift bag of goodies for me! I almost cried. It was such a sweet (and very delicious) gesture.

Look at all this good stuff!



Of course I had to buy more, for backup. ;)

After that LeAnn and I went to Sonic so I could induldge in my obsession of the moment (Wholly Guacamole Hot Dogs). I have since quit cold turkey, with only one slip. I was up to three a day at one point. It's a shameful place to be.

LeAnn had gotten me an Ulta gift card for my birthday, and we headed there next... I had never been to an Ulta, and I was SO EXCITED!!!



I ran into the Beibs there...



And here is my first Ulta Purchase!!!



After that we made a few more stops, including Michaels and the Mall.

We went back to LeAnn's and I said I was going to "rest my eyes" for a second. Next thing I knew, she was waking me up and it was time to go out and meet up with more of her friends (including Amanda and Travis, who I had met earlier at the Farmer's Market) for dinner at a local mexican spot.

Heading out (wearing my new makeup, of course!):





All of her friends were so great, and I felt like I had known them forever. There was no awkwardness at all! And best of all, I got to wear a large somebrero and have whipped cream smashed in my face!





After dinner, we headed to Dazzler's, a nearby bar. Or, as LeAnn calls it, "The Dazzle." I have to admit, I go to bed pretty early, but they convinced me we'd only be there an hour. Yeah, right. Once I got started, I didn't want to leave. I was singing and dancing and making a fool out of myself... and I loved every second of it. I have not cut loose in... way too long. I should try to do it at least once a year.



The next morning we were going to Jennifer's for brunch. Jennifer is another one who has been my fb friend for a very long time, but I had never met in person.

Here's a picture of me being emo on the couch while waiting for LeAnn to get ready.



Brunch at Jennifer's was GLORIOUS. GLORIOUS. Crab quiche. Need I say more? And cucumber sandwiches, and ham and potato soup and mimosas and salad with fruit and gouda and more fruit, and blueberry cake... oh my. I still think about it daily.

Here is Jennifer, me, and LeAnn before we left.



Jennifer has since moved to TX (boo), but we will be seeing her in November and I can't wait. I'll also be making another trip to SC in late October... can't wait for that, either!

After that long and relaxing brunch, we then met LeAnn's momma for dinner. It was so good to see her, she is EVERYONE'S momma, and she truly loves all of her "children". I am so glad to have Momma B in my life!!

We then headed back to LeAnn's and watched the Olympics, "Bridesmaids", did our nails and were just lazy. It was wonderful.

I was to leave the next morning, but first we decided to end our visit with a spray tan (courtesy of LeAnn's groupons). I am a pale, freckled chick who burns... I thought it would be great to try something new. I went for medium, with a boost.

Right away, we had a lovely glow.



Six hours later, when I got home, I looked like this:



HOLY COW, right? Haha.

After documenting it with photo evidence, I took a bath and washed off all the excess. I came out looking far more normal and just had a regular tan. I loved it. I would definitely do it again!But of course I had to joke about it first, and let everyone know this was the working title and cover of my new book...



But, like I said, it faded to a "normal" tan in no time.




I miss you, LeAnn. Every day!!! Thanks to you and Julz for giving me a wonderful birthday weekend!

The big 3-5

I have to say so far that 35 is not my favorite! I was so excited to have my birthday (Tuesday) off, because there was so much I wanted to do. My main goal was to get to Pi-Yo (a pilates/yoga mixed class that my gym only offers on Tuesday mornings, hence I can never go!) and since Josh took the day off, I thought he and I could get lunch together or something and just have a fun day. Then maybe some reading and a nap in the afternoon. Sounded perfect. And oh, leftover cake for breakfast also sounded like a great idea.

I stayed up a little later than usual on Monday night, since I knew I didn't have to go to work the next day, but when I tried to go to sleep, tummy trouble struck. I was up sick until about 2 a.m. and then awake at 6 a.m., still feeling like crap. Josh made me some toast, but it quickly became apparent that the gym was out, and my day of fun was just not going to happen. I hated feeling so miserable on a day I had so many plans for, and I really hate that my stomach issues keep resurfacing but they cannot find a cause.

What did end up happening was a lot of laying around. Then I went through a couple boxes of pictures I had in the garage and really tried to pare them down to just ones I really wanted. I take a lot of pictures, and I had easily 20+ years worth and a lot of them were several of the same things. Here are some gems I found.

Me as a blonde in 1997 (!!) with Dimebag from Pantera. RIP, dude.


With Rex from Pantera:



And Vinnie:



And back around 1998-2002 I LOVED the band fuel. Went to more of their shows than I can count and met up with a lot of friends a long the way. Here are a few photos from when a bunch of us met up in Wilkes-Barre PA for a show around 2001. It was so fun. And man, I've always been a pale chick, but do I look flourescent white or what?



We bought gigantic underwear at Walmart and wrote things on them and threw them onstage. It was fun. Notice the giant underwear on my head that I am wearing like a do-rag... Oh, to be young and thin again!





These are just pictures of the pictures that I snapped with my iPhone, so sorry for the quality. I wish I would have taken one of the photo of us with the whole band and the giant underwear. Fun times! They always got a kick out of seeing the same groups of us at different shows. Really nice guys, and man I loved their music. Wish they were still together!

Florida (I think?) with my friend Danyel, 1999... I cannot believe I was ever this thin. Wow!! And I didn't even have to try. I even have a slight tan, can you believe it?



Memphis, 2001:


My first Fuel show - meeting Brett Scallions. I was totally starstruck for some reason. And good lord, I look 15 instead of 22!



I found this so humorous, I had to put it on my facebook wall:



The closest I got to a festive meal was some leftover birthday cake and cheese and crackers with Fig Jam:



I returned to work yesterday to find these lovely flowers from my brother-in-law and sister-in-law who live in CO. Love them!



I'm feeling better now, and good thing, too. My mom and aunt are arriving from Ohio late this afternoon and I'm going to be busy this weekend cooking and showing them the sights. They leave Monday morning, so I took the day off to recuperate (I'm going to need to!)... Next weekend I can hopefully start canning.

Great week and weekend!

Life has just been fun lately.

Josh ordered me my favorite birthday cake from my favorite bakery - Sweet and Sassy! They have this fudgy icing that I absolutely adore. I'm a big advocate of homemade cakes for birthdays (for other people) because it means more when you make the effort, I think. But for my birthday, personally, I need Sweet and Sassy's fudge icing, or it's just not the same!



Now to explain the cake decor. Josh calls me "Foo Foo Shnickens", hence the "Happy Birthday Foo Foo" part. As for the rest of it... I call Josh every day on my drive home from work and I almost always (ok, ALWAYS) ask if we got any good mail (I have a lot of magazine subscriptions, so getting one constitutes a "good mail" day for me). If he says no, I always reply "What? No flowers, cards or balloons?" So he made sure that my birthday cake had flowers, cards, AND balloons on it! Sweet, huh?

Saturday evening we had Tim and Meredith over to eat some cake with us. We also grilled out and of course I got some good cheese and crackers. Perhaps one of my favorite things about having people over is an excuse to go buy some good cheese from Whole Foods. This time I got my favorite blue (Shropshire), a wonderful gouda (Van Gogh), and another wonderful, buttery cow's milk cheese called Amadeus.

Tim and Meredith both had birthdays last week, so I got to give them their gifts as well. Gosh, I love buying birthday gifts!!

July Birthday Peeps:



Waiting on my cake:



Horribly unflattering photo of me, but my husband can certainly rock a t-shirt!



Any guesses as to what I wished for?














Yesterday, we went to Josh's Aunt's pool. The water was perfect, but I still ended up a little crispy. Ouch!









You can never have too many flotation devices!!





I greatly enjoyed floating around... it was worth the sunburn!



Tomorrow is my actual birthday, so I am taking the day off. No concrete plans, but I do want to hit the gym and just kind of enjoy life a bit. My mom and aunt come into town on Thursday, so I am going to have a busy weekend. Next Monday, when they leave, I'd like to do some canning, but that really depends on how worn out I am after the weekend!

Birthday Surprise!

I will be turning the big 3-5 next week, and when my husband asked me what I wanted as a gift, I asked for him to redo the third wall of shelves in our library/office.

This is what they looked like when we installed the shelves last year...



Unfortunately it quickly became apparent that we needed an anchoring strip in the middle, as well as shelves extending all the way up the wall (since it's such a short wall, we misjudged!). Despite the room being full of shelves, there were simply not enough and I couldn't really put too much on this wall because it couldn't handle the weight.

(Complete library post is here if you missed it the first time around.)

I really didn't think he would end up doing them, but I came home last Friday to find this:



and a sweet note saying we were going to Pam's (once he was done mowing the lawn) to have some good southern food for dinner. What is it with me loving to eat at little dive restaurants? Wait, I know - it's the FOOD!



And the company...



And it's the amazing thick bacon and chocolate gravy and biscuits that make me go back the next morning...



And I wonder why I've gained 3 lbs.

ANYhoo... I am thrilled with the shelves.... except for the fact he has yet to let me put anything more on them than what was already there. Which sort of defeats the purpose, don't you think??

Weekend!

Our weekend was pretty lovely, but busy!

Saturday morning we woke up and went to the gym. They had a circuit training class going on that I thought would be fun. Um, I was wrong. The cardio part of the class consisted of step aerobics. If you know me at all in real life, you know I am NOT graceful nor coordinated in the least bit. When I realized what kind of class it was going to be, I was quick to inform the teacher that it wasn't my forte and I would most likely get out of step. She told me as long as I kept stepping, even if I wasn't doing the right steps, I'd still get a good work out. Did I mention this class was an hour long? Yikes.

I loved the other parts of the class, though. The abs, warm up, cool down, the weights, etc. Just not the stepping. The worst/best part was there is this guy there who goes to just about every class and he always hollers things out, people's names, "wooooo!", that kind of stuff. Well, the whole time I was struggling, he kept yelling "Don't give up, Shawna! You gon' be a stepper! Wooo!" I could have died of embarassment. Even the pregnant girl in class was kicking my ass. And of course, Mr. Cheerleader never yelled out my name when I was doing something right. I would have loved to hear "You're killin' those bicep curls, girl!" Oh, well.  But it was a good workout, even if I did most of it wrong. Today is the first day that I am not sore from it. My arms DEFINITELY got it good.

After the gym, we headed for our Neighborhood Home Tour. I was really excited about it, because number one I love my 'hood, number 2 I love to see how people decorate, and number 3 I like it when the community (and other people) all come together for this event. Unfortunately, this year was a dud. There were two houses on our side of the hood on the tour, but the one was so messy... I'd hate to see how they live every day if they are that messy on tour day. The other house on our side was the same style as ours, and it's always neat to see how different the houses are even when they are the same layout. The girl that owned that one was very sweet and we talked with her a lot. She knew which house was ours in the neighborhood (hello, yellow door!) and asked us a lot of questions about our house and I told her to stop by anytime to come have a look. It has always been a dream of mine to be on the home tour, but I always think I have this or that to finish and it's not 'perfect'.  Well, it's probably never going to be perfect, but it does have a personality and lots of character (most of the other homes this year were very lacking in that department). So I made up my mind to do it next year, no matter what is still 'imperfect' or 'undone'.

After the home tour, I met my friend/coworker Julie at the Mall for a "girl date" to guide her through Forever 21 (they have some great stuff, but the store can be so overwhelming!) I ended up with 3 dresses.



After the mall I went to Whole Foods to stock up on some cheese because the next day we were going to Arrington Vineyards to celebrate my bro-in-law's bday (and you know Josh and I always get put on cheese duty!). I got great service at the cheese counter, he just kept feeding me samples! I was in heaven. After that I went to the grocery store to do our regular shopping, and by the time I got home it was evening and I hadn't sat down in my house all day! But I still had a little cooking to do. When I finally did sit down, Julio just wanted to cuddle.



Our Sunday Miracle was Pablo and Julio in the same bed! Although I think Pablo just got in there to steal Julio's little mouse, but Julio let him, so it's a start, right?





Pablo has been a challenge these last few days (and that is putting it mildly). He is scheduled to be fixed TOMORROW, and then we are going to look into a trainer for him. He is definitely not your typical puppy. I always joke that if he had a cartoon thought balloon over his head it would repeat the word "Destroy!" over and over.



Arrington was fun. So good to see my bro-in-law and sis-in-law in town from CO and spend time with family and friends. In addition to bringing the cheese plate (with crackers, fig jam and honey and red pepper flakes to accompany), and hummus and pita chips, I made vegetable pizza. Yum!



Here's me and the bday boy:


And me and my sweet seester-in-law (love, love, LOVE her):


Bros:


Chad and Katie (the couple we had over for dinner a couple of weeks ago):


I didn't take as many picutres as I usually do this weekend. :( But I DO make a mean cheese plate. :)

Gratuitous Dog Shots:




This morning I was supposed to go to the gym for a 5:30 ab class, but right before my alarm went off (at 4:50), a crazy storm hit and we lost our electricity. I would have still went in the rain, but it was still pitch black outside and it wasn't just rain, it was a crazy heavy downpour! I am hoping for decently light traffic on the way home so I can at least make it to pilates at 5:30 tonight. We'll see, but I hope so! Send me some good traffic vibes!