Taking My Blog Over Again….

These last few days of 30 Days of Me are going to go out the window.

I should rename it to 25 Days of Me.

Regardless…

I met Dorothea Benton Frank Friday night.

She is a riot.

I have a picture, but we’ll just save it for my personal records.   It has everything to do with the fact that it is a terrible picture of me and having cyberspace view it is just not an option.

I had such a good time listening to her stories about her life and seeing how they parallel the story lines in her books.

Let’s not forget the fun I had drinking some wine with my friend, Jennifer.

Good times.

We also met Karin Gillespie, who was in attendance.  Ms. Gillespie wrote The Bottom Dollar Girls series and The Sweet Potato Queens in collaboration with Jill Conner Browne.

I realized three things that night:

1.  Too much time passed since the last time I went out with friends.  Thanks, Jennifer, for hanging out with me.

2.  I was being a total groupie when meeting those two authors and I didn’t care.

3.  Just like Dot Frank’s character, Caroline, begins to look and act like her mother, Miss Lavinia, I see Nini in the mirror and my actions more and more each day.

It’s a good thing you are cool, Nini.

Day 24: 10 Years

BP and I celebrate 10 years of marriage today.

We went to high school together, but never spoke.

I was three years younger and always thought he was an all around good guy who also happened to be easy on the eyes.

He joined the Navy after graduation.

I went to Clemson after graduation.

As the years went by, we saw each other here and there through mutual friends.

I worked with his sister at the pool as a lifeguard during the summers and mentioned SEVERAL times how very cute I thought he was.

He was honorably discharged in the fall of 1997 and moved home.

I graduated from Clemson in May 1998 and moved home.

His sister told him she thought we would make a good couple.  I guess he agreed because there were flowers waiting for me on the back porch the day I moved home.

And we’ve been together ever since.

Can’t wait to spend many more decades with my Superman.

(Last year’s anniversary post has details about the wedding day.)

Days 19, 20, 21, and 22: The Combo Post

Today is BP’s birthday!

Instead of learning more about me, you’re going to learn a little about BP.

Day 19:  A Talent

BP does not just have one talent.

He is fabulous with the computer.  He is who I turn to with all of my questions.

This man can also fix anything.  ANYTHING.

Except doors.

Doors are his kryptonite.

Day 20:  A Hobby

Golf.

Restoring classic cars–told ya he can fix anything!

Art–he painted the mural in the nursery.

Gardening.

Fixing ANYTHING.

Playing with the kids.

Day 21:  A Recipe

Every year I make a red velvet cake for BP’s birthday.

I would give you the recipe for my mother in law’s Red Velvet Cake.

But it’s a secret.

Just take my word for it…

UNBELIEVABLY DELICIOUS.

Day 22:  A Website

BP is all things computer.  One website he loves:

woot.com

Happy Birthday to my Superman.

Day 18: Full Circle

I started swimming on competitive swim teams when I was about 7 years old.  It started with summer league teams and eventually moved onto year round swimming.  I continued the sport when I moved south in 1989, joining our local USA Swimming team.

I was an Ok swimmer, never really a standout.   I just loved the sport.

In 1996, after my sophomore year at Clemson, I was asked to be an assistant coach for the summer league team in which I swam from 1989-1995.

I was the assistant coach again in 1997 and then the head coach in 1998 and 1999.

Now life has come full circle.

Frick is on that very team.

You have no idea how strange it feels to be back at the very same swimming pool to watch my son.  The present day coaches are the kids who were in the 6 and under age group–Frick’s age group–when I coached.  They are in the pool helping my little guy swim like I used to help them.

I did not have tears welling in my eyes as I watched him do this…my eyeballs were just sweating.  A lot.  Yeah, that’s the ticket.

*sniff, sniff*

Day 16: A Song That Makes You Cry

I’m a sap.

There’s no denying that.

Many, many songs as well as books by Nicholas Sparks, movies, and commercials make me cry.

I just can’t narrow this down to one song.

1.  Butterfly Kisses, Bob Carlisle

(my Dad and I danced to this at my wedding)

2.  The Star Spangled Banner, sung by Whitney Houston

Fabulous.  Gives me chills each time I listen to it.

3.  The Little Girl, John Michael Montgomery

I couldn’t find a suitable YouTube to use.  My apologies.

4.  Don’t Take the Girl, Tim McGraw

5.  Beautiful Boy, John Lennon

This song makes me think of my beautiful boys.

So if you ever see me driving down the road with tears streaming down my face, don’t worry about me…chances are one of these songs is playing in my Swagger Wagon.

Day 14: Nonfiction Book

I rarely read two books at one time.  It’s hard for me to keep up with story lines.

Heck, it’s hard for me to keep up with general household information (read: correctly calling my offspring by their given names instead of their brothers’ names.  Or my brother’s name.)

Moving on….

Cold Tangerines, by Shauna Niequist has been a great read introduced to me by my friends at The Mom-tage.

Click over there and you will see yours truly and sweet little Frog on the header.

This book could not come at a better time, for 2010 has been topsy turvy for us.  From dealing with the aftermath of a death in the family, having a newborn (read: no sleep), illnesses in Frog, typical day to day stresses, etc.  The list could go on and on.

Cold Tangerines is helping me put things in perspective.

Life with God at its core is about giving your life up to something bigger and more powerful.  It’s about saying at every turn that God knows better than we know, and that his Spirit will lead us in ways that we couldn’t have predicted. -Shauna Niequist

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Day 15 is actually today.

I am supposed to write about a fanfic.

What IS a fanfic?!?

I’ll be skipping that one.

Day 12 and 13

Day 12:  A recent photo of me:

I am still in love this photo (and the baby, too).

My friend, Dana, took it the day after Frog was born.

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Day 13:  A fictional book

Here’s what I am currently reading:

I read Plantation about seven years ago.  I needed to reread this before I read the sequel.  Did I mention I will be meeting Mrs. Frank this month?  AND getting the sequel, Lowcountry Summer, signed??

Yeehaw!!

Day 11: Switcheroo

I’m switching Day 11 (A Recent Photo of You) and Day 12 (Freebie).

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Frog had tubes put in this morning and everything went well.

Thank you for all your calls, emails, comments, etc.

We see an otologist, who performs the surgery in his office.  The term “surgery” is used lightly since there is no general anesthesia involved.  Numbing drops are placed in the ears, you wait for 45 minutes, and then the doctor uses a laser while you hold your child.  It’s a pretty cool experience, but Frog was not too excited about it.

He did that pitiful cry-with-no-sound-or-breath-until-your-face-turns-red cry and then the can’t-catch-your-breath cry.

Breaks your heart.

But here’s to pain free ears.

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Hair cuts were also on the hit parade today.

Frick and Frack decided running racing in Crocs (never a good idea) would be the MOST fun way to get into the salon.

This race quickly turned into a battle:

the parking lot versus the boys.

The parking lot won.

Frick wound up with skinned knees and Frack came away with this:

Ouch.

Day 10: A Photo of You Taken Over 10 Years Ago

A few throwback pictures of yours truly:

December, 1976

6 months old

Groovy pants, Pops.

1978

2 years old

Rockin’ the blue velour.

Day 9: A Photo I Took

I skipped Day 8.

Yesterday was a busy day.

Plus, this delicious little boy has a double ear infection.

Again.

He will be getting tubes Friday morning.

*sigh*