Jan 15, 2013 | Friends & Fun, Uncategorized |
You know
what I did last weekend because I hadn’t done it in so long? (Sarcasm alert!) I
drove a couple thousand more miles down the east coast. I brought Mom and Elizabeth along for the ride. Elizabeth
sat in the backseat and was as snug as a bug in a very tight rug.
The
first day of the drive was uneventful. The second day we took a small detour so
we could drive through the Smokey Mountains. We passed this building on the way to the visitor center. It’s not every day you see a building that fell from the sky.
Elizabeth
wanted to go in “to use the bathroom” (she really just wanted to see the inside),
but we said she couldn’t just waltz into a museum and ask to use the restroom. Besides,
using a restroom in an upside down building sounds slightly precarious to me.
The
Smokey Mountains were really beautiful. We stopped at each and every scenic
overlook to take pictures.
At one
point I felt the need to turn into a radio so I started serenading Mom and
Elizabeth. What I meant to sing was On Top of Old Smokey. (COULD THERE BE A MORE
APPROPRIATE TIME TO SING THAT SONG?) What I did sing was On Top of Spaghetti. My
internal radio must have been set on the wrong station.
The
ranger at the visitor center told us that the best way to see the mountains and
get back on the highway was to drive 9 miles on a particular road then take a
left. Between my spectacular singing and the beautiful views, the miles got
away from us. After almost an hour I said that surely we had traveled 9 miles so I didn’t understand why we hadn’t seen the left yet. That seemed like a
potential problem. We
stopped at a gas station to replenish our snack supply and see if anyone could
tell us where we were. Mom asked a woman
for help and was told to go out to the gas pumps and yell for Bill. I
stayed inside to pay for my snacks but pushed Elizabeth out the door behind Mom. I wanted someone there to protect her in
case things with Bill got sketchy. Also,
there was the possibility that it might be awkward to be with Mom as she
walked up to random people and asked if their name was Bill. Bill turned out to be a
very helpful man. He informed us that we were on a Cherokee reservation and nowhere near the left we
needed. We wanted to be in the upper left corner of the map, but we were in the
lower right. Please keep in mind that I was in not in charge of the map during
this trip. I was simply the chauffeur/personal radio/buyer of potato chips. For once we didn’t get lost because of my lack of directional skilz. Not to throw Mom under the bus, but she was
in charge of the map.
As we left the gas station, Mom said Bill couldn’t believe she didn’t know where the local casino was. “It’s not like you visit casinos in Tennessee
every day,” I said. That’s when Mom revealed that we were no longer in
Tennessee. We were in North Carolina.
I almost
drove off the road.
That’s
how we found ourselves driving four hours on the same exact highway that
we had already driven on earlier that afternoon.
Two good things came out of our lengthy detour. One, Mom was able to fulfill her dream of seeing the Smokey Mountains. Two, we got so far off track that we were able to convince Elizabeth that we were in Texas.
I’m glad we had the four hour detour. It gave me time to come up with such a ridiculous story.
Dec 31, 2012 | Friends & Fun, Uncategorized |
Saturday was a big day in the lives of Sarah and Katie. For the first time ever, the men in our lives were in the same place at the same time. (Technically Christopher and Zachary meet at Katie’s grandfather’s wake two days earlier, but who wants to say they bonded for the first time at a funeral parlor?) We decided that such a momentous occasion deserved the level of sophistication that can only be reached at a bowling alley.
I was in charge of entering the address of the bowling alley into the gps. Naturally I entered the wrong address. Instead of entering South Street I entered South Road which lead us on a nice little detour away from the bowling alley. I have bad luck navigating that town. Once I was in charge of finding a park for us to have a picnic with Katie’s family. I did some research and found the BEST park. Turns out it was in a town in ENGLAND with the same name.
Katie and I felt it was very important for Christopher and Zachary to spend some time together before we take them on a camping trip we’ve been planing for the last twelve years. Besides the fact that Zac has 1500 times more energy than Christopher (which really is remarkable when you consider that he’s older than Christopher), they get along well. We have high hopes for the camping trip to go well. We’ll pack an air mattress for Christopher to nap on.
I’m no expert at bowling, but I’m pretty sure the two X’s near my name were kind of a big deal. (My score is by the letter B as in B is for Button which is my nickname.)
Sarah: Let’s smile for a picture.
Christopher: Let’s take a nap.
We were unable to get a picture of Christopher and Zachary together (Z was moving way too fast), but we have high hopes of a tent and campfire themed photo shoot.
Poor guys. They had no way of knowing what lay in their future when they started dating us.
Nov 12, 2012 | Friends & Fun, Uncategorized |
Last Saturday night I had a little bridal shower for Katie. I can’t go to her real bridal shower at the end of the month, so I invited her over for a very small shower. And by ‘small’ I do mean small. It was just the two of us, Mom, Dad and Elizabeth. Yes, Dad attended his very first (and probably only) shower. I think he attended because the shower was held in his living room while he was sitting in his recliner.
We started off the evening by going back in time to a pose used during our photo shoots of the mid-2000’s. Not sure where we picked that up (I’m pretty sure it was during the phase when we called everyone dude), but it’s become one of the many quirks of our 22 year friendship.
We thought we looked so cool back then.
Katie has always said that when she had her own home, she wanted colorful bottles to put on the windowsill. I forgot all about that until I happened to walk by a shelf of colorful bottles at Hobby Lobby. I’m so glad I found them because I really didn’t want to give her a whisk or potholder.
If you look closely, you can see that the sign behind us says Katie & Sarah, not Katie & Zac. That was done on purpose. Quite simply, I was at the shower and Zac was not. Besides, people have been saying “Katie and Sarah this” and “Katie and Sarah that” for so long that it still seems weird to stick Zachary’s name in there.
Here we are circa 1994. At the risk of sounding boastful, I’m just going to go right out and say we were pretty cute.
Nov 8, 2012 | Friends & Fun, Uncategorized |
Every time I go home for a visit, I have a debate with myself about how many pictures to post. Debating with myself usually means I go around and around in circles and is generally very dizzying.
I surprised Autumn with a visit on her 22nd birthday. When we were little I felt like I was at least 12 years older than her. I considered her A CHILD. She’s not even two years younger than me. Funny how growing up closes age gaps.
Elizabeth and I had a fall photo shoot.
Molly, the meek and mild cousin who is the epitome of seriousness, stopped by for a visit. I could only get a good picture by doing a silly one first.
Looks like this goat at the zoo has posed for the camera before.
Listen. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again- people in New England have no business saying y’all. This sign was outside the tiny exhibit that housed the tiny alligator. Across from the alligator was a sign that said, “Get your gator gumbo here!”. Since when do people in Massachusetts eat gator gumbo? It’s like I don’t even know my homeland anymore.
Look how excited Aaron is to pose with me! The excitement! Can’t be contained! (Just between us, I think he makes a pretty good bat.)
I learned a new joke from Elizabeth. Why don’t seagulls fly over the bay? Because then they’d be BAYGULLS!
Turns out I crack up at jokes told around the snack table at preschool.
Oct 25, 2012 | Friends & Fun, Uncategorized |
It’s been a very good week in the fan mail department. I try to be humble, but what else can I call it besides fan mail?
Mom sent me this card and it made me shake my head and say, “She did it again.” Why would she be sending me a birthday card in October? As the one who gave birth to me you’d think she’d have my birthday straight by now. Then I saw she had crossed “birth” off and suddenly it became a little clearer. She was wishing me a happy day and I appreciated it.
Back in April she sent us this card two days before our anniversary.
It’s a sympathy card. I was concerned that a) Mom thought we had a terrible first year of marriage or b) she had lost her mind. I almost wasn’t sure which was worse. Then I remembered that Christopher’s grandmother had just died and suddenly it all made sense. (Apparently the moral of the story is I need to stop assuming things.)
My favorite Anna Banana and Jillian each sent me a letter! Their letters always include either stickers or fun shaped paper clips and these letters did not disappoint.
Christopher wrote me a letter for each day he’s in the field this week!
I know. He’s very sweet (and prolific!).
Sep 5, 2012 | Friends & Fun, Uncategorized |
Today was an interesting day.
I got lost in the town I lived in for 22 years. I got stuck in a hospital parking lot and couldn’t find my way out. I slipped not once but FOUR times while going from the parking lot to the hospital in the rain. You can just call me Grace.
This afternoon I took Elizabeth down to city hall so she could register to vote. I love voting and was so excited to share the joy with her. I hope she has better voting success than I’ve had in the last 6 years. Only two of the people I’ve ever voted for have won. TWO. Basically you can bid farewell to your political career when I fill in the circle near your name.
It’s a pity she wasn’t more excited to be joining the ranks of privileged voting Americans.
You see the man by Elizabeth’s head? It’s the mayor. I recognized him as we walked in but didn’t point him out to Elizabeth until we were through the door. I didn’t want her to run over and start proclaiming adoration for the direction he’s pointing our fair city in when WE DON’T LIKE HIM. Naturally I voted for his opponent which is why Kevin won. Still, a person of note is a person of note and I’ve never been one to walk by and not photograph a person who is mentioned on Wikipedia.
He spent 95% of the time we were watching him rolling up his sleeves. (Point of reference: we watched him longer than the length of one Brad Paisley song.)
Eventually Elizabeth shook her head in disgust and said, “Dude, it’s time to stop rolling up up your sleeves and START WORKING!”
I think we know who she won’t be voting for come November.
