i don't make this stuff up...

look what was waiting for me at work today...


i'm hoping this is the last of the hampton inn alligator family. we certainly don't need the mother showing up!

spt - school days, school days

as promised, two challenges this week. i firmly believe in jumping right back into the saddle!!

for next week, how about a self portrait of the *end-of-summer* you? the you who is thankful for school routines, or the you who is pining at home for the schoolbus to return? are you waiting in endless carpool lanes? or relishing the "time off" in starbucks or the craft store? are you in school yourelf? or just frustrated to be stuck behind a schoolbus during your morning commute? do you even notice the shift from *summer* back to "school*??

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

the next challenge is going to send you back in time. i'm giving you an extra week, and a little freedom from the "self-portrait" guidelines...

for tuesday, september 11, get out those family photo albums and really take a look at your old school portraits. what is your favorite childhood memory of going back to school? were those good times, or stressful times for the younger you? were you decked out in new clothes? did your mom give your hair a trim the night before school? did they still use chalk in the classroom then? did you have to walk uphill through the snow both ways?!?

i hope you will take the time to find those old photos! call your mom and ask her to send them along to you. ask your neighbor if you can borrow their scanner. take a few moments to get back in touch with your inner child!

milestones

post #200 today. with the *lack of blogging* i did this summer, i'm quite surprised that i've come so far. i'm also amazed, looking back, at how much of my life i've managed to wrap into bite size packages.

so i'm going to take some time today to read through the past few months. to relish in the surprises that i will surely find there. and to give thanks for everything that this little blog has given me so far.

and tomorrow, i will give you two, count 'em 2 spt challenges!!

(check out spell with flickr to stylize your words and numbers, just like i did. thanks for the link, missy)

whodunnit?!?

i'm here!! i'm back!! the kiddies are in school and i am ready to get my life back together!! to celebrate the return to normal, we went to a tremendously fun murder mystery party on saturday night. it was a fundraiser for our playground project. this is the second murder mystery party i've been to this year (i actually have a post sitting in my draft folder about the first one...)

we were back in "1985" for a "class reunion." it was just like old times for me! in fact, when i walked into the party, all of my family said "wow. you look exactly like you looked every. single. day. of senior year!!"

(i'm not convinced that's a compliment...)



matty won a prize for "best dressed!" he even managed to keep the wig on all night! click here for more pictures, and to read about our TOTALLY TUBULAR party!!

look who went skinny dipping last night...

i got a call to come back to the hotel at 11 pm, because this *little* guy was having a swim!!

he'd been hanging out in the retention pond for a few weeks. the state wildlife department had advised us that we needed to contract someone to remove him from the property. (in north carolina, it is against the law to disturb an alligator in his natural environment, or something like that.) at any rate, the alligator hunter had just gotten back to me with a quote of $300.00

funny thing is, once the alligator made it into the pool, he became a "nuisance," and the state had someone out within 40 minutes (at 11 p.m.), and he was removed for free!!

notes from the drawing board

see me up there? hard at work? (actually, i was posing as the "guest" in this photo.) at any rate, just wanted to give you an idea where i am spending 97.8672634% of my time these days...

i must thank all of you who keep stopping by to see if i've blogged anything lately. i will tease you with this: ideas that are rambling about in my head that are totally blogworthy!

random acts of kindness: lots of water and gumball jars for jack's camp counselors
godspell: the show is cast and i'm blogging the whole experience (see! i still blog)
vacation bible school: now so much more than Gods-eyes and dixie cups
class reunion at JAMES D.MURDER HIGH: i missed my class reunion this summer, but will be celebrating at a murder mystery party next weekend
cheerleading: in which i learn the ups and downs of "16 year-olds these days"
spt: i need to SEE my friends!!

hope you are well. twelve (!) days until school...

well, maybe a wee bit out in the countryside

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock. A unique soul like you needs a city that offers everything. No wonder you and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong In?

spt

spt needs a vacation!! spt is so sad to have missed the blogger party in utah. spt is tired from carpooling and working and waiting for the results of cheerleading tryouts.

spt misses playing well with others, and finding it's true colors and putting it's best foot forward.

spt will be back on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4th. there will be an awesome challenge, with plenty of time to prepare. check back soon for details!!

i am here.

and i can't go another day without saying hello. be patient, i will return (as soon as the tourists go back home!!)

how are you?!?

random acts of kindness

jack goes to camp at a beautiful church retreat on the atlantic ocean. between the summer day camps, and the church youth group camps, they have as many as 1600 youth on campus each week. the grounds themselves used to be Fort Caswell, and are studded with old encampments, armories, fortifications, etc.

there is a security gate that is manned 24 hours. the guards are all so friendly, always smiling, always giving directions, talking about the history of the fort with people who just happen to stumble across it. they have a small guard "shack", and it has got to be hot in there!

on friday, we dropped of milk and fresh baked cookies to the guard on duty. he was totally surprised ( a little taken off-"guard" even!!) just a small thank you! (we know he enjoyed it as we saw him brushing cookie crumbs off of his lips!)

spt - it's too darn hot

it's hot!

too hot to play outside, too hot to walk barefoot across the pavement, too hot to blog! the swimming pool feels like bathwater and my glasses fog up every time i step out of the sweet, sweet air conditioning!

what are you doing to stay cool this summer?

spt

i am totally excited to embrace some geekness this week - all for the sake of my blog!!

i am so NOT a geek. a dork, maybe. a geek? no. but this little challenge has ended up to be one of my favorites!! how excited am i to do an spt post that is actually taking spt to a whole new level?!?

i've been trying to find time the past few weeks to add about 10 new bloggers to the "image consultant" sidebar. it's just one of those tasks that gets pushed aside and pushed aside. and a recap? forget about it this time of year. it's all i can do to click through all of the links to see who's updated for spt.

one new blogger i've connected with this week is jen, who has taken on the RAK challenge. (kristi, maybe you should consider hooking me up with jen's blog a RAK on your part!!) anyway, jen has this totally cool link on her blog to blogging basics 101, which just might become my own personal geek support system! it's got answers to tons of pesky questions!

at blogging basics 101, i found out that spt is actually a *carnival* (points for learning a new blogging term!) according to the site, when you are hosting a carnival you are inviting people to write on a specific topic. you give them the topic, which day they need to post the blog entry on that topic, then ask them to come back to your site and submit their link so everyone can see what everyone else wrote.

who knew?!?

even better (more thanks, jen) they gave a shout out to this great thing called *mr. linky.* (more points for learning a cool new blogging tool!) how perfect that this spt will be the premier of *mr. linky* on amuse-bouche! i am swelling with geekness!!

so go ahead. get your geek on and post your spt link right here!! don't forget to use the permalink for your spt post. (as always, comments ARE welcome at any time, too!)

good mail is YUMMY

check out this delicious good mail i received !!



i am not a big cereal fan. so just imagine my surprise when i found out these three little boxes were bursting with ribbon!! thank you, kristi.

i also got some very creative poppin' good mail from rebekah. (sorry no photo, but it didn't last that long!!) suffice it to say, jiffy pop smells and tastes EXACTLY the way i remember it!!

have you gotten any YUMMY good mail lately?

spt - embrace your geekness

did you know that today, july 13th, is "embrace your geekness" day?

according to what i've found on the internet:

A geek is an individual who is highly intelligent (brainy) and technically oriented. They are most often associated with the computer, and computer systems world. A geek is usually formal, studious and into his technical world, often to the exclusion of all else. A geek is closely related to a "Nerd". A nerd however, may or may not possess technical expertise.

Some people view the term "Geek" with a negative connotation. Are they jealous of your knowledge and skills, perhaps? We certainly think so.

Enjoy Embrace Your Geekness Day to the fullest. Spend plenty of time with your computer. Talk computer lingo and jargon. If you are a geek, stand tall and proud. Isn't it great to be so brilliant and gifted!?

do you have a "geekness" about you? we're all together in this great big blogosphere, so i imagine we've all mastered the basics of desktop publishing. do you have a secret fascination with programming? were you in line last week for a new iphone? do you actually know what gigs and pixels and java script are?

or do you love a geek? is there someone you can go to when your beloved PC is misbehaving?

embrace your geek! make it a point to learn one new computer phrase this weekend. share a tip you've mastered. update your blog, if nothing else!!

no such thing as random

jen has picked up a challenge that kristi threw down yesterday. i have a wonderful story to share. i know there are a lot of you cruising by amuse-bouche today to check for an spt challenge, and i hope you will be inspired to share your stories, too. take a moment to post your own random acts of kindness. thank you jen for taking this idea and running with it!! we have not ever *met* in the blogosphere before, but our circles are definitely intertwined!!

several weeks ago, my son, jack (6 y.o.) and i were in line at my least favorite store in the world. it was typically crowded and understaffed. we had wasted too much time in the store already, and we just wanted to get home and eat dinner.

in front of us was a very sweet woman. she looked to be in her 80s or so, and we had passed her in several aisles as she was working through her shopping list. after standing in two lines that weren't moving, jack and i ended up behind her.

the contents of her cart were simple: coffee filters, fruit, tomato sauce. nothing outlandish. as the cashier began to ring her up, i heard her mention that she couldn't go over $18.

her total was close to $25. the people in line around us were antsy. heck, I was antsy!! she asked the cashier to hold on to her things, and she would run home and get some more money. she was so sweet. i didn't even think twice before i offered to pay the difference.

jack was mystified! why would we pay for someone else's food?!? what a wonderful way to teach a child!! the woman was astonished! she wanted me to wait. she would come back and bring me money. i wouldn't think of it. she said, "i have never had anyone do this for me. i've done it for others, but no one has ever done this for me. how can i repay you?" i told her to put the $7 in her collection at church, or to give it to someone else who might need it.

was it by chance that i eneded up in her line? that i was able to help her out? that my son was with me to soak it all up? random? i can't say. this woman has obviously lived a life of delivering "random acts of kindness." maybe this was just her time to receive. i'm glad i was behind her.

making the grade

yesterday was one of those super important days in the life of a hampton inn general manager. it was QA day (quality assurance day). that's right... a whole day of an auditor poring over paperwork, checking sheet threadcounts, sniffing approved air freshener, counting donuts, etc. for my brand, this happens twice a year, and they are unannounced. all g.ms. start getting a little frazzled in the weeks when we know we are "due."

the inspections are absolutely important to the integrity of the brand. sort of a necessary evil. this time around, i was really wigging out. i feel like, with everything else that's going on this summer, my coping mechanisms are mis-firing. throughout the day, i developed an uncontrolable case of bouncing knee (you know, the one where you can. not. sit. still.) and the sense of hyperventalating was almost overpowering!! i even joked that i was going to have to pull out a paper bag and start deep breathing exercises. (at least i was still able to joke!)

and in the end, i am totally relieved and proud to announce that we scored an OUTSTANDING! our seventh outstanding in a row!! i am so grateful to my entire team, who just continue to shine (no pun intended!)

i am also happy to report that i am currently enjoying breathing again.

spt

ahhh, where do i go to get away from it all?

i love mornings. i love to rise before the family, drink a few cups of coffee, mentally arrange my day. in the spring, my spot is on the deck or front porch, listening to tree frogs and sprinklers, feeling the sun begin to heat the day. in the winter, my spot is by the fireplace, dawn zinging early light through my reproduction rose window. there's nothing quite like having a quiet moment before the chaos of the day.

i love late evenings, too. i love to linger awake after everyone has gone to bed. i enjoy mindless television while i write letters or plan menus. my spot is on the sofa, glass of water beading up on the coaster beside me, basket of stationary supplies at hand on the coffee table, softly scented candles burning nearby. there's nothing quite like having a quiet moment after the chaos of the day.

can you picture it? i feel relaxed just telling you about these places.

oh, how i miss them...

this summer is a whirlwind of activity!! my morning is filled with getting jack up and ready for camp, getting taylor, ahem, *up.* after burning through the days, i do my best to collect myself in the evening. all creative energy spent, i am merely that person who falls asleep on the sofa during the weather forecast, startled awake by the soft sounds of my own snoring.

there is one place left that i can visit throughout the day; strictly stolen moments while the washer spins or dinner simmers. fortunately for me, this retreat is totally portable. in a flash, even for only a few stolen moments, i can remove myself from the chaos of the day.

there's a support group for this, right?!

65%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Mingle² - Online Dating

spt - yankee doodle dandy

please indulge me with the photo recap. i LoVe the 4th of july!!



taylor and i did some quick iron-ons for our parade day tees

jack worked hard at the church men's club hot dog booth (photo taken just before he *fell into* the ice tub of sodas



hanging around during the parade

brother-in-law adrian & cousin max

sister patricia and brother-in-law andrew (visiting from the ATL)

cousin allison


shriners are always a big hit during the parade

afternoon cookout fun



lots of love for baby rebecca

spt challenge - stolen moments

i loved seeing everyone's photos of their fourth of july celebrations!! there was plenty of watermelon, fireworks & red, white and blue!! i know some of us (myself included!) have not had a chance to finish our spt recaps... take your time!! savor the memories of your holiday! remember, these lazy, hazy crazy days will be gone much too quickly!!

despite the *vacation* part of "summer vacation," it seems we are all just as crazy as ever. swim teams, scout trips, family vacations (and new family cars!), new babies, family reunions, rock concerts, and even stomach bugs have kept us all hopping this summer!

where do you go at the end of the day, when the house is quiet and you have a few stolen moments? is there a special place in your home that becomes your retreat for reading, surfing, blogging, scrapbooking? or is this the place where you enjoy steaming hot coffee in the morning before the day gets away from you?

what makes this a comforting spot for you? is it filled with photos? mementos? an overstuffed chair? do you shut the door against the world, or do you throw open your shutters and take in the view? is there music playing? a DVD running? a candle burning?

in the insanity of summer, where do you spend your stolen moments?