CrAzY Working Mom: Becca

Showing posts with label Becca. Show all posts

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Vacation Continues

Although I cannot consider myself a city girl just yet, I have officially made my first journey to The Big Apple. I was definitely a small town country girl caught up in the hustle and bustle in the city! While it was nice to visit, I can honestly say without a shadow of a doubt that I would not want to live there. I cannot imagine having to navigate through that place on a daily basis.

We did the typical touristy things: Visited the Empire State Building, Took a Water Tour to see The Statue of Liberty, Saw A Broadway Show, and had a NYC Hot Dog and slice of Pizza. I must say that I was very glad to have visited the city so nice they named it twice with my "bestie" of 21 years. She's been living in Maryland for 10 years now, so she's become quite the city girl herself. She's an amazing navigator and hails a mean taxi cab!

I had a fabulous time but unfortunately the camera I took was malfunctioning. I took a few pictures and when I went back to review, they weren't on the card. I assume that either the camera was malfunctioning or the memory card was not accepting the images. Either way, the only images I captured to share with you of my visit are the ones I snapped with my Iphone. Fortunately it captured some great shots.

We waited in line at the TKTS discount ticket booth. Fortunately we got there and only waited an hour in the (record!) heat. It was pretty miserable, but in Times Square there is always entertainment! The beautiful bride you see pictured here was more than blushing, she was glowing in the heat! She was beautiful and took a moment to pose with her groom atop the stairs in the center of Times Square. They were marvelously happy and she was positively breath taking in that beautiful gown. Although I didn't know who they were, it made me smile to see them enjoy their special day.

We waited in the ticket line a little over an hour to get discounted tickets to see the Broadway show, Rock of Ages, an arena-rock love story told through the mind-blowing, face-melting hits of JOURNEY, NIGHT RANGER, STYX, REO SPEEDWAGON, PAT BENATAR, TWISTED SISTER, POISON, ASIA, WHITESNAKE and many more. In 1987 on the Sunset Strip, a small town girl met a big city rocker and in LA’s most famous rock club, they fell in love to the greatest songs of the 80s. It was an awesomely good time about dreaming big, playing loud and partying on! Becca and I both enjoyed it.

Before the show, we had dinner at Bubba Gumps Shrimp Company. It was recommended by a Facebook friend and am I ever glad she did! It was awesome food and our waiter was great fun and even hit us with some fun Forrest Gump Trivia. We did great on most of it, but failed the one about which movies featured both Tom Hanks and Gary Sinise. There were three. Can YOU name them? Becca and I both had Lt. Dan’s Drunken Shrimp: Large Chargrilled Shrimp and Andouille Sausage with Mashed Potatoes and Bourbon Sauce! It was scrumptious! There was a great photo opportunity while waiting to be seated, of course I couldn't pass up! Ya love my shoes?

"That's all I hafta say about that!"

Taken atop the Empire State Building

On Friday we did the Empire State Building. is a 102-story landmark in New York City, United States, at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It is 1,250 ft (381 meters) tall. Its name is derived from the nickname for New York, the Empire State. It stood as the world's tallest building for 40 years, from its completion in 1931 until construction of the World Trade Center's North Tower was completed in 1972. Following the destruction of the World Trade Center in 2001, the Empire State Building once again became the tallest building in New York City. Although the views were breathtaking, it was a lot of waiting in many lines only to get to the top and be in mass chaos! If you got close enough to the edge to take a photo, it wasn't long before you were smashed or pushed enough you just wanted to get the heck outta there.

Of course we stopped for lunch and had a hot dog from a street vendor in New York City. It was delish! We went from there to have a fresh slice of NYC pie (pizza!) . We chose a hole in the wall place, I don't even remember the name, but I am fairly sure that it was close to the Empire State Building. Being a plumber's wife, I can tell you that they are in desperate need of one in this building, as evident in this photo. I knew I should have brought my husband with me on vacation. He could have made back all of the money I have spent on the trip thus far! ;)

Me and Lady Liberty!

We ended our NYC trip by touring the city via The Hudson River. We sailed down the Hudson, cruised around the Battery, up the East River, and under the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg Bridges. It was a fabulous time, and of course, the piece de resistance: Lady Liberty!!! I have to admit this was my favorite part of the whole trip! I had been looking forward to catching a glimpse of her on the Empire State Building, but seeing her up close on the water tour was simply breath taking!! She was definitely worth the wait in the hot sun to get tickets, and then on the boat to come back from the previous tour! I snapped a few photos while on the water, and I will share some of them here with you. Please pardon the quality, as I said before they are phone quality photos.

I really loved the bridges!

Reconstruction of the World Trade Center!

So beautiful! Her shoe size: 879!

We had a great time and made it back to Baltimore all in once piece and have enjoyed our day back here. We had lunch at the Cheesecake factory. I won't bore you with photos of my lunch and dessert, but suffice it to say it was magnificent!

Thursday, June 09, 2011

Welcome to Bawlmer, Hon!

I made it to Baltimore!! I am enjoying some bestie time with my B/F of 21 years, Becca. You might recall me mentioning previously that my wonderful hubby got me a trip to visit her for Christmas last year. I didn't want to visit in the Arctic temperatures and forty feet of snow (okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit there but I'm from Arkansas, so one foot to us is like forty feet to you Northerners!) We shot for early June so that we could go out and about and do fun things without having to be miserably hot. Wow, were we horribly wrong about that one!! Maryland (along with Arkansas) is having record breaking temperatures, with heat indexes well over 100. Insane! Today we are traveling via bus to New York City where the temperature will be 100°! YES, I SAID ONE HUNDRED DEGREES!!! Thankfully tomorrow it will only be 80, but I think that is due to rain, so I'm not sure what tomorrow will hold. But we will be seeing a Broadway show, so that will (hopefully) be air conditioned and maybe we can cool down a bit. Anyhow, I am VERY MUCH looking forward to the NYC visit. I've never been. We are spending the night there and staying in a hotel on Times Square! Whoo hoo!!! Small town girl visits big city, tomorrow's headlines. ;)

Hon Town Store in Baltimore.

So, anyhow back to my Baltimore visit. Yesterday, Becca and I had a low key morning. She did some work from home while I watched television and kicked back. We met up with a friend of hers for dinner, but first we did a little bit of boutique style shopping which included Hon Town. It is an awesomely fabulous retro-style shop. In preperation for Baltimore's Famous "Hon Fest", Becca and I tried some retro-styles. What is Hon Fest, you ask...well, I did and this is what I found: Although nowadays the city is extremely culturally diverse, the lasting image of Baltimoreans seems to be the "Hon" culture exemplified most markedly by the longer established families and residents of the Highlandtown, Canton, Locust Point, Hampden and Pigtown neighborhoods. Between the 1950s and 1970s, it was common to see working class local women dressing in bright, printed dresses with out-dated glasses and beehive hairdos. Men were often dressed casually, but with a general factory or dock worker look, as many in town did indeed have such jobs.

The name of the culture comes from the often parodied Baltimore accent and slang. "Hon" (pronounced /ˈhʌn/,[dubious – discuss] an abbreviation of "Honey") was a common informal name for someone else. Baltimore’s accent exemplifies a dialectal continuum between Tidewater American English, a southern American dialect, and Delaware Valley American English, a common coastal dialect, loosely possessing the vowel shifts of the former and general pronunciation of the latter. For instance, "Baltimore" is pronounced "Baldimore" or even "Balmer," and "Maryland" becomes "Murland," "Murlan," or "Merlin." Other common pronunciations include "ool," "amblance," "wooder," "warsh," "sharr or shaow," "dug," "couwny," "tew," and "zinc" (oil, ambulance, water, wash, shower, dog, county, two, and sink respectively). There is also a popular summertime phrase, "goin' downy ayshin" (going down to the ocean, usually referring to Ocean City, MD).

Now that you are schoold in Bawlmerese, here are a couple of photos we snapped in the store. Whaddya think, Hon?!

Becca with a pink haired Bee Hive

It's me, Hon!

After a bit of shopping we had dinner at Mr Rain's Fun House located at The American Visionary Art Museum that boasts a very culturally diverse menu pleasing not only to the eyes, but to the pallete as well! My entree of choice (after much deliberation) was the Veal Loin Chop with Polenta cakes and bayby patty pans in a demi glace. When it arrived, it was so beautiful, I almost didn't want to eat it, however that passed very quickly. The chop was cooked to perfection and full of flavor. The Polenta cakes and bayby patty pans were bursting with flavor, and I left out of there a happy woman! Of course I had to pose for a picture on the way out. No, this is not Lady Gaga in case you were wondering. Just one of many statues you will find at the American Visionary Art Museum.

Veal Loin Chop from Mr Rain's Fun House

Outside the AVM

We are slated to leave for NYC in a bit. I will not be taking my lap top with me there, so I am signing off for a couple of days. Look for lots of pictures to in the days (or weeks, you never can tell with me anymore!) to come. I hope you are all enjoying this ~~miserably~~ wonderfully HOT summer thus far.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Randomness

CrAzY Working Mom - is enjoying a lazy Saturday at home with her family! They are far and few in between, so I am taking full advantage of it.

Are you a fan of CrAzY Working Mom on Facebook?

CrAzY Working Mom on Facebook

I enjoyed an awesome night with some great friends seeing comedian, Tim Hawkins in Little Rock. This guy is hilarious. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time...maybe not EVER! My face hurt by the time we got home. It was an amazing performance.

Last night, my best friend Becca came to spend the night with us while she's visiting from Maryland. We always have a fun time together. We went bowling with the kids and then had some pizza. She and I stayed up and watched quite possibly one of the worst movies I'd even had the misfortune of seeing...The Box! It is on it's way back to Netflix as we speak. Don't waste your time if you've not seen it. It is reeeeeallllly bad!

This leads us to today. I have gathered all of the consignments I am taking to the Searcy Rhea Lana sale next month. It's my first time to ever consign and I'm pretty excited about it. I usually give away all of the kids clothes, but I realized that this is a great way for me to earn a little money from them to buy some new clothes.

Monday, January 11, 2010

"Weighing In" on Some Things

This post is going to be completely random with no specific target 'cause it's Monday and, well I just don't feel like being composed today! Proceed with caution as you've been warned. ;)

* I have been on Weight Watchers for one week today. I have GAINED 1.5lbs.

* I have been doing the EAS Active for Wii 30 day challenge for one week. I am hoping that this is the reason that I have gained weight. I worked out 6 out of the 7 days last week.

* If you haven't entered to win free pizza, courtesy of Pizza Hut and CrAzY Working Mom, click HERE!

* My Best Friend was diagnosed with diabetes 2 years ago and has started a new blog, please go visit Becca and tell her I sent you. Single White Diabetic.

* I found out last week that I am doing the lay-out for my daughter's class in this year's edition of the year book. At first I was worried 'cause I've never done it before. But, then I realized that I am lucky to be able to do something like this for my daughter and her classmates. But, I might need to go snap some more photos. The good thing is that I can do it all from the comforts of my own home. There is a website that I can upload the pictures to! Another mom has already sent me some great shots. One more has promised some. Now, I'm pretty excited about it.

* Emily is doing a bit better with her RSV. She still has a terrible cough, but probably will have for a while. She and Tyler broke out in some sort of rash over the weekend. Tyler's eyes almost swelled shut and his entire body was covered. We thought we were going to have to take him to the ER but, Benadryl did the trick. This morning the rash was gone. My sister has been fighting a similar rash for two weeks. She's been to two hospitals and the doctor twice. They keep telling her there is nothing they can do for her. Supposedly it's viral. I'm not sure if my children are battling the same thing, but it's a high probability, I'm sure.

* Tyler spent the night with his Grandparents on Friday night. He called me and informed me that he wanted to move in with them and just visit us. This was during the day. Saturday night at bed time, he called and said that he wanted to come home!

* I'm not sure how posting your bra colors, hair style, and shoe size on Facebook has to do with Breast Cancer Awareness, but it sure was fun getting comments from people who were out of the loop!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Happy Birthday, Becca!

Just wanted to take a minute to wish my bestest friend in the whole wide world a very happy 32nd birthday. I ♥ you, Becca. I hope you enjoy your day and have a lovely afternoon/evening! thank you for being the best friend a girl could ask for. Won't you join me in wishing her the bestest birthday ever?! Happy Birthday, Rebecca Ann Schwoch! Here's to health, wealth, and warmth...I know it's cold up there in Baltimore! Sending you electric blanket wishes and hot chocolate dreams! :)

Sunday, October 25, 2009

A Special Occasion Calls for Great Fun!

I have been best friends with this chickadee for 20 years! TWENTY years she has been by my side through some of the most important moments in my life. I am so happy to have a friend like Becca. This weekend we took the opportunity to spend some time with just the two of us in the heart of Memphis. We were lucky enough to get to enjoy the River Arts Festival. Exhibitors brought their work and displayed some of the most beautiful and creative things that I have ever seen. There was some great music and belly dancing as well. We had dinner at the "world famous" Rendezvous. We had a long wait, but the food was worth it and the company was fun during the wait. We danced at Coyote Ugly and had some yummy daiquiris at Wet Willies.

All in all we had an unforgettable weekend. I am so fortunate that I have an awesome best friend to hang with and a special husband who doesn't mind unleashing his crazy wife on the town. I am such a lucky girl. Thanks to Becca for staying my friend for twenty years. I look forward to the next twenty, girlie...wrinkle cream and all!!!

♥

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Time for Mom to Let Her Hair Down!

You might remember a while back, I posted about the upcoming twentieth anniversary of my best friend, Becca and myself. We were debating on a trip to meet up for the weekend and celebrate by spending some time with one another. Our destination has been decided. Becca will fly from her home in Baltimore, MD to Little Rock and spend the night with her Mom. We will meet up on Friday morning and travel to Memphis! We're super stoked about our trip. We'll be visiting the area during the RiverArtsFest so there should be plenty to do. I am looking forward to some time away. I love my kids and my husband is the best, but even the craziest of working moms need to pack up their Samsonite luggage, put on their big girl panties and hit the road with their best friend! So, who lives in or around the Memphis area? If you want to meet up while we're there, I'd love to have lunch or dinner with you (next weekend). Leave me a comment or shoot me an e-mail.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Twenty years and counting...Ellen or Bust!

In October, my best friend and I will be celebrating our twentieth anniversary. We have been friends since Elementary school. In the years that we have been friends, we have lived in the same town, different towns, and even different states. In fact, my best friend lives across the country from me now. Before the days of the internet, we would write letters back and forth to one another and include recorded cassette tapes for each other. We would mostly just talk about our lives and what was going on with our families. I can remember how excited I was when I would get a letter from Becca. It was such a treat. As the years went by, our means of communication changed, of course now that we are older, we have e-mail, Facebook, Blackberries, and such it is a bit easier to find out how Becca's day is going. But, it doesn't make the distance any easier.

I am married with three children and Becca lives with her St Bernard, Annabelle. I wish that Becca could bring Annabelle over after work every day and she could play with my kids and Oscar the wiener dog. Unfortunately, the 17 hour drive between her house and mine makes for limited visits for all involved. Our lives could not be any more different, but through it all we have always maintained our friendship. Above all, we have remained loyal and true to one another. I have known Becca longer than any other person outside of my family. Some day we hope to live closer to one another but for the time being we have to settle on the vacations she can take from work and come here to see her family (myself included). I have been to Maryland to see her twice, but with three children, a husband, dog, and a cat it's hard for me to get away to visit.

Since we will be celebrating our 20 years in October, we have decided to splurge and meet up for a long weekend. We both love Ellen DeGeneres and thought it would be kind of fun to be in her audience. What a better way to celebrate 20 years with your best friend than dancing with Ellen!?! So, what do you think??? Should we go for it??? Maybe Ellen, being the awesome person she is would read this and think...hey those girls should be on my show! I know she always gives away cool stuff to folks in the audience and I would LOVE to be ~~a lucky recipient~~ able to see her show live!!! But, more importantly spending a weekend with my B/F/F will be awesome!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Funday Sunday

My B/F/F came today and we took the kiddos bowling. We had a fun time. Becca and I sucked almost equally. Hubby proudly exclaimed that he liked playing with us because we made him look so good. Suffice it to say that we will not be joining a bowling team any time soon! *insert cheesy grin*. We did, however have a fun time.

Many of you asked via comment about my Camera Critters post. To answer the questions, the animal pictured was a possum. This guy was featured on a wall at a very over priced furniture store when we visited Branson, Missouri last weekend. He was not going anywhere because, yes he was stuffed. In fact I got several good shots of other critters that just might be featured in the coming weeks!

As for the rest of the day,

Shelby helped me out by doing some sweeping

while Tyler helped me do the ironing.
I hope to teach him this task because I absolutely dread doing it!

(No, he was not using a hot iron.
He was using Shelby's play iron.)
Emily had her first taste of green beans.

She's not very fond of them, as you can tell.

Oddly enough, she decided she's rather eat the spoon!

How was your Sunday?

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Thursday Randomness

* I love my best friend! As you're reading this I am spending a couple of days with her on a little mini-girlfriend-getaway. I'll be tagging along with she and her mom. I've been looking forward to it for quite some time now. We'll be going to the Spa City, Hot Springs. We will be bathing in the springs followed by a massage. You just can't beat relaxation like this!

* I bought some bath and body products that I really love last weekend at Branson. Lavender and Vanilla sugar scrub as well as the bubble bath! It's amazing. It's a wonderful aromatherapy sleep aid. The sugar scrub not only exfoliates but it is also a moisturizer. I would highly recommend this product if you haven't tried it.

* I am having some serious issues with my eye lids. They are super dry and itchy. I use baby soap to remove my make up and baby lotion to moisturize. Any tips as to what it might be and why it won't go away?!

* Emily ate her first food Tuesday night. She had squash. She seemed to enjoy it and did really well with the spoon, not gagging at all! My baby girl is growing so fast.

* Speaking of growing fast, she weighed in at a whopping 14.5 pounds Monday at her check up. Her pediatrician said she was "perfect" just like her brother and sister. I really love that guy. He knows how to make a momma proud.

* Thank goodness for empty dream catchers!

* It's a new year, have you resolved anything? Are you taking a Spawn supplement, on a cabbage soup diet, or are you working out and eating healthy? Have you resolved to become closer to being debt free in '09? I'd love to do both. We'll see.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Birthday Wishes

I could not let the day go by without wishing my bestest friend in the whole wide world a Happy Birthday. Becca is out partyin' it up tonight and I am sad b/c I can't be there. She lives in Maryland and I'm in Arkansas. She will be here next week, though and I can't wait!!! In the mean time, I know that Becca might be wanting to watch her figure with it being the start of a new year for her, so I give her this to sink her teeth into: Carb Free Buns. *wink*

Happy Birthday girlie. Love ya, mean it!

Friday, December 05, 2008

Boxing

My Best Friend told me today that she wanted me to post a picture of a boxer here. At first I was perplexed as to why she would want me to post a boxer. They're such cute dogs, but can be quite aggressive.She's had a rough week but I won't go into the details here. I will say that my best friend is the most caring and loving person that I've ever met. I love her to pieces. We talked a bit more and I thought that maybe she would want to see this kind of boxer...well, I would:But, then I realized that she wanted someone she could punch 'cause she's had a bad day. So, here is a boxer for you my girl, if you could punch that pretty face.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Waving goodbye and saying hello...

For My Best Friend:

My best friend in the whole wide world moved away when we were 12 years old. Amazingly enough we have remained best friends throughout the years. It wasn't easy when we were younger, before internet. We would record cassette tapes (remember those) to one another telling about our lives, school, parents, siblings, etc. By the time it would reach the other one, most of that was different but I loved getting cassette tapes from my best friend. Hearing her voice was the best thing ever.

We both come from backgrounds that have made us strong women. They weren't easy, but I think that it has made our bond grow stronger between one another because we know so much about each other and why we are the women we are today.

I love Becca more than words can explain. I miss her so much every day. We e-mail each other daily but it's just not the same. I wish so much that she were here to see my little Emily do the cute things that she is starting to do. I wish that she could be here next month when Shelby has her first school program, I wish that she could hear Tyler be his silly self on a daily basis. But, most of all I wish that she could be with me. I wish that I could call her up and make a Saturday breakfast or Sunday brunch date with her...and not have to hope on a plane to do it.

I miss you so much, Becca! I hope you know how much you mean to me and how important you are in my life. Even though we had to say goodbye when we were 12, we've always remembered how wonderful it is to say hello again! :)

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

My Kid of The Week

Last week, Shelby was chosen as "Kid of the Week" for her class. She was very excited because she got to be the line leader and teacher's helper all week. In addition to those special privileges, she was able to bring something for show and tell each day. Friday, however was the best day for my kid of the week. She got to bring someone special to class. That someone special was yours truly!

I met her at lunch with her favorite, tator tots with cheese and popcorn chicken and a cherry coke from Sonic. We got to eat this yummy fast food while the rest of the kiddos were stuck eating cafeteria food. After lunch, I got to go outside and play with she and her friends on the playground! I must admit that this was just as much fun (maybe even more) for me than it was for her. She and her friends ran to the swings and I got to push them.

Pushing those little girls on the swings brought back so many school yard memories for me. You see, my best friend and I used to swing high on the swings at every recess. Well, there were times when I'd talk Becca into playing tether ball with me but for the most part we'd spend our time swinging. Eighteen years later, Bec is still my best friend and we'd swing every day if we could!

As I watched my daughter swing sky high with her friends, I thought back to my childhood, I wondered what I was thinking back then. I wonder what she thinks now. If only I could go back to those times when things were much more simple. A time when all you had to worry about was making it to the swings first. There are no worries about the economy, who will be our next president, or the price of a barrel of oil in a foreign country. I can only hope that I can protect her and shelter her from these worries as long as possible and that she can swing sky high for may years to come. Maybe these playground friends that she has made now will continue on into her adult life as well.

After our play ground time I got to go into class with her and read them a couple of stories. The kids were very well behaved and Shelby was very excited to have her books read in class. Her teacher told me as I concluded that I could easily have a job as a teacher. I giggled and told her thanks, but no thanks. Although there was a time in my life when I did want to be a teacher, but I think most women will say the same thing. I just don't think that I am teacher material!

Today, Shelby and her classmates are visiting the fire station and I plan to meet the class there. It should be great fun!

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Happy Birthday

♥Happy Birthday, Annabelle♥!!

I am a bit late posting this, but my best friend Becca has a wonderful dog named Annabelle who just turned one. She had a party with her friends! What a lucky dog. Anyhow, I hope she has a great year and continues to treat her mamma well.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Special Birthday Wishes

Today is a VERY special day for a most special person in my life. My very best friend in the whole wide world turns the big THREE-OH! As you might remember I turned 30 back in November. I thought I was going to have a hard time with it, but as it turns out most of you were right...it IS just another number and so what if I have to check a different box on any form now that says 30-50 instead of 20-30. *Sigh*

Anyhow, today is my best friend Becca's special day. She was in Arkansas for the holidays and will be traveling back to her home in Baltimore today. If you could go over and say Happy Birthday to my B/F/F you can have a slice of cake! :) Yup, I said cake...what's a birthday without cake?!

Becca is a connoisseur of fine wines, in fact she frequently attends and hosts wine parties at her home in Baltimore, Maryland. But, since she's from Arkansas, I know she loves a good 'ole Beer from time to time, so Becca take your pick (or have both, it's YOUR birthday!!).

I love ya, Bec and in honor of your big thirtieth birthday, here's a re-print of the tribute I did for you last year on your birthday:

-She moved all the way from Arkansas where she'd been most of her life and where most of her family is to Maryland where she only knew a few people.
Since then she has made a host of friends, been involved in Jaycees, had some GREAT jobs and met lots of new people.
-When we were in elementary school, we'd play together at recess. I didn't have any gloves. We'd swing beside one another on the swing sets. She'd give me one of her -gloves and we'd each have a glove.
We'd swing as high as we could and sing the Kit Kat commercial...

"Gimmie a break, gimmie a break. Break me off a piece of that Kit Kat Bar"

-We'd also play tether ball A LOT. She was great because I don't think she really liked it, but I liked it a lot loved it. She'd play me and let me win I'd beat her most of the time.
-We called each other by code names when we'd pass notes in class in case the letter got confiscated by the teacher.
-One time a letter did get confiscated by a teacher. It was disastrous!
-I remember one time I had a death in my family. A very tragic death of a small cousin due to horrible abuse. It was a traumatic time for me. I remember laying on the bed one night just crying. Bec just laid down beside me and put her arm around me and laid with me 'till I fell asleep crying. Just knowing that she was there beside me helped get me through MANY tough times after that.
-I threw up one night before going into a haunted house with her 'cause I was so scared. We still went in!
-We used to play Lifestyles of the Poor and Unknown. We'd play like we were reporters etc and talk to one another as though we were interviewing each other and make recordings. It was loads of fun. We'd even try to have the accent.
-My mom calls her the "oldest" daughter eventhough I am a little over a month older than Bec. She always said Becca just acted like the oldest. WHATEVER MOM!!
-When Bec moved away in Junior high, we would record tapes and send to one another 'cause I didn't have a phone. We would just record letters onto the tapes and mail them back and forth to one another.
-Her mom owned a Mexican restaurant when we were kids. I LOVED to go there to work with Bec eat! It was GREAT food. I think that's why I have such a love today for Mexican food.
-We've been friends for 18 years. Yup, 18 years...WOW!
-I've known her longer than I've known most people in my life besides my family...even my husband!
-She knows lots of secrets about me, but she's my BEST friend and she'd never tell...so don't even try to bribe her!
-She's an awesome dancer!
-She's great with kids. They love her.
-She's got a beautiful smile. It lights up a room. She gets it from her mother.
-She's the greatest friend that a girl like me could ever ask for. I am not just saying that either, 'cause Christmas is over and she got me a great gift, so I don't have to kiss up anymore. : )

I love you Becca and I hope that you always know that!!!
May your thirtieth birthday be the gateway for the greatness you are destined to find!

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Birthday Package

When I was in Baltimore at Becca's house, I had forgotten to bring a book to read on the plane. I had bought some magazines at the air port gift shop. Thank goodness Becca knows me well enough that she had just the right book for me to read on the way home. It was a witty, fun, quick read and it made me wish the trip home was about an hour longer so I could've finished it. The book was called Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot. You may recognize her for her best selling young adult series, The Princess Diaries. I see you shaking your head now. Anyhow, if you haven't read this book, I would highly recommend it. It's a very fun read.

I came home this afternoon from work and there was a package on the front porch. I LOVE packages, especially when they have my name on them! (smile) Anyhow, I had some help from my lovely two year old tearing open the box and much to my surprise I had a birthday gift from my B/F/F Becca. She sent me three more Meg Cabot books!!! I was so excited to see them. I received Size 12 is not fat, Size 14 is not either, & Big Boned. Have any of you read them yet? If so what did you think of them. I'll try to get them read and reviewed here. But, don't hold your breath because I don't have a lot of time in my busy schedule for reading, but next time I take a trip, I can guarantee one thing that will be in my suitcase!!!

Thank you so much, Becca!

Friday, October 26, 2007

Build A Bear

Day three was the most fun at Build A Bear. Shelby got a smile on her face like I'd not seen on our entire trip! We surprised her by telling her she was going to get to do something she'd never done before. Of course there were lots of guesses, but she didn't get even close. When we walked in, and she realized what she was going to do she referenced the episode of Hannah Montana "Make A Moose" where Miley and her neighbor's niece made Hannah Moosetana! :) I told her yes they were quite similar! Shelby chose a pink teddy bear for her creation. First up the bear has to be filled with life. There are all sorts of sound boxes that you can add inside the bear should you choose to do so, but this would prohibit you from future sessions in the washing machine. So, we did not add any sounds to Shelby's bear or Tyler's puppy dog that Becca carefully selected. Next up, the child chooses a heart. They have to kiss the heart, make a wish, and insert the heart through the hole in the back. The Build A Bear workshop will then sew the bear up and you'll proceed to the next station which includes "washing" your bear. We all know that bears can get pretty dirty in the stuffing process...so they need a good washing before their wardrobes are chosen. THIS, the choosing of the clothes proved to be the most difficult task of the day. Possibly the most difficult task in my young daughter's life! I am being quite serious when I say this. I've never seen so many outfits for animals in one place. There were really cute ones too! We had a hard time selecting...do you choose casual, dressy, night wear, stage clothing, etc? Very difficult decisions indeed!! Shelby finally settled on a blue jean skirt, with a white shirt trimmed with lace on the bottom topped with a half sweater with some beautiful bead work and a tie in the front. She also has hello kitty panties so nobody can see her beary butt. She has pink dress shoes.But, we all know that no outfit would be complete without the right purse. Am I right, ladies or am I right?! She has a magnificent sequin purse to accent that outfit beautifully. The finished product is a bear named Cloey. From the dressing station, you move over to the computers where you enter all of your personal information and your adoption process begins. The name is chosen for your creation. Then you take all of the tags from the accessories, and your bear to the register where you began to have your heart attack. Actually it wasn't cheap, but for the fun we had I think that the price wasn't all that bad. For me, it was perfect. Becca graciously paid because she said that she wanted to do it for her birthday. I think that there could be no more a perfect gift for my daughter than this bear. She is completely and totally in love with this thing! This photo shows Shelby in Becca's car on the trip back to Becca's house. She informed me as I buckled her in that she needed to sit in the middle so that Cloey could buckle up! Yes, my friends the bear had to be buckled up. This bear, ummmm...I mean Cloey has not left Shelby's side for a minute since we got her. THANK goodness the flight back to Little Rock was not full and Cloey had her own seat, and yes thank you very much she was buckled in carefully on the plane. Shelby slept the entire flight back to Little Rock. She literally woke up as we landed. The flight was awesome. The skies were clear and it was smooth sailing the entire time. I just want to say a big THANK YOU to Becca for being such a gracious hostess for Shelby and myself. We did have a great time and can't wait to come back.

So, without further ado, my friends meet our newest additions: