Hello Again!

I didn't disappear, I swear. Only from the blog. Here is exactly what happened:
I got so busy living my life I just stopped taking the time to write about it. 

It's a good thing to have happen, really. A very good thing. But I've missed blogging. So here I am, trying to get back to it.

A few updates:

Being in your 30s is AWESOME! 

Seriously, it is. I love it. A switch really does flip in your brain and you care less- about looking perfect, acting perfect, living the perfect life. You sit back and just enjoy more. Sure, you want more. You still strive. But it's easier; more care free. I highly suggest skipping 29 and going straight to 30.

This is NOT old!

So not old. Not even a little bit. Everyone giggled at us when I first relocated to Texas and said we'd get used to having each other there all the time. Nope- not true. People are still giggling at us, but because we are still completely, ridiculously happy together and they just don't know what else to do. We still love going to the grocery together, we still love going for walks, we still talk at least 3 times a day regardless of whether or not we see each other, we still drive her husband crazy. It doesn't get old, people! Move to live with your best friend now.

This happened!

That, ladies and gentlemen, is a boyfriend! A real, live boyfriend. You never thought you'd see the day did you? Me either. But he just followed me home one night. Seriously. That's how it happened. His name is German (Her-Mon), he's Colombian (sexy, I know) and he's adorable. :)

This is gone...

No, I really am not OK. I'm better, but not OK. I miss her desperately! But her hip gave out completely and there was no chance of her walking again. So, as much as it killed me, I let her go. It was the right thing- but it was awful. It's been almost five months and I still cry, I still reach for her. She's buried at home in Florida under the same tree where my horse is buried. And yes, I buried her with a tennis ball. 

It's almost football season!

Not technically an update, but very pertinent information none the less! 39 days, people. 39 days until LSU kicks off the 2013 season. I...AM...READY!

Being an Aunt is still completely amazing!

It truly is. My friend Sally said to me the other day (about her nephew), "I never knew I could love someone so much." That explains it perfectly. I had no idea that my heart could contain so much love and joy surrounding four little people. Holy Moly- they are awesome! 

Yes I'm Am!

Nathan says, "Yes I'm am," all the time. As in, "Yes I'm am a robot, Auntie." Or, "Yes, I'm AM your nephew!!" I think it's just so damn cute.

I decided I'm make a Yes I'm Am list today.

Yes I'm Am...

An Auntie! This seems like a logical place to start seeing as I stole the topic of this post from the 3 year old nephew. And I can prove this by my membership at SavvyAuntie.com!

A dog spoiler. I can't help it- look at that face! I was scolding myself for my lack of will power against Van's pleas last night. I almost always lose. And Katie has already submitted a list of no-nos for when I keep June Bug (It may be my fault she sleeps on furniture...)

A wine drinker! If you're reading this blog, I doubt I need to explain this.

An LSU Football fan! I'm also of the crazy, over the top variety.

A horseback rider! I grew up doing it and have not done much since I lost my horse a few years ago. But I want to get back into it. And I live in the land of the cowboys now, so surely this can't be too hard.

A pirate... three hundred years too late...

If you missed the Jimmy Buffet reference here you are fired from reading my blog. Also, I'm not really a pirate. I am just playing one in this picture because AC is a pirate.

A fisherwoman. I freaking love fishing! And I will kick your ass any day.

A sister! There's no better job.

A Mama's girl

Still a child. I sleep with my rabbit every night.

Also a major Daddy's girl!

Refer back to dog spoiler...

A reader! I always have a book with me. If there's no book in my bag, it's probably not me.

A new resident of The Woodlands, Texas and loving it!

A lover of all things margarita!

A massive T Swift fan

And a Jennifer Nettles (but no so much Rhianna) stalker.

Quite possibly certifiable insane. At the very least completely crazy!

OK, that was fun! what "am" you??

Stating the Obvious

The Bleacher Report put out an article today announcing LSU has the best fans in the country... thank you captain obvious!!!

You KNOW I loved the article! Every line of it was quotable, so here it is:

The Tigers come in at No. 1 because they are loud, passionate and just down right crazy. Football is their life in Baton Rouge and they let you know it. They travel well and the tailgating is outstanding.

LSU fans terrorize their opponents, which is why Tiger Stadium is one of the toughest places to play in, especially at night. If you have to face the Tigers in a night game, more times than not, it will be a loss for you. There's a reason it's called "Death Valley." The atmosphere at LSU is out of this world.

They party hard, eat well and win. What could be better?

What I Want to Wear This Weekend

In case you're lost in space and didn't know: Tonight is the Cotton Bowl and LSU plays Texas A&M. Obviously, I'm a huge football fan- LSU, specifically. So here's what I want to wear this weekend:

I think I was at this game!!

Love the hood.

I'm not even sure what this is!

Holy crap- SERIOUSLY??? OK, I don't think I could pull this one off! Only at LSU...

I'm actually going to wear this with a purple wrap. But it seems kinda boring now...

Busy Weekend

My weekend is PACKED! I'm exhausted just thinking about it. Or maybe I'm just exhausted from the week I've had. Either way...

I am FULLY looking forward to these things:

Tonight

Dinner at the Global Grill (where they serve my absolute fave dish: Lamb Lollipops!) with my LOVE, AC, and my crazy Mama and Aunt Karen with whom nothing is ever dull! Then we will stroll around Gallery Night.

Saturday

LSU and Auburn are the only two undefeated teams left in the SEC (and, arguably, the only two undefeated teams that matter since the others have crap schedules). T Hamm (sadly) in an Auburn fan. I'm not sure why we're friends at times like these, but we are and so we are trekking out to Daddy's for a tailgate party on the sofa, cookout, and the big game between LSU and Auburn at 2:30. There is just no better way to spend Saturday afternoons that watching football!

Sunday

I will be taking miss Van swimming and sleeping it up!

Fall

So, I must admit that until recent years my Southern roots have not given me the greatest opinions of fall. I mean, we don't really HAVE a fall here. We have a few glorious weeks of summer New England Style (85 degrees) and then suddenly it's raining and cold. But I have traveled some the last few falls and thus have come to understand why the rest of the country loves fall so much. These are a few of my new fave fall things:

COLOR!

Who knew- leaves actually DO change color! And pumpkins and squash come into season and apples are pickable. Color color everywhere!

OKTOBERFEST

SO, I didn't even know what this WAS until last year. This year I went to the Oktoberfest put on by the German Naval Wing at Pensacola NAS and drank too much German Beer. Come to find out, it's stronger than American brews. We got into a pretzel food fight with the next table that ended up being shut down by a German Naval Officer. Kinda scary. I drank more beer to get over it.

PUMPKIN CARVING!

This year T and I carved pumpkins together and had a ball. I carved Van from a Better Homes and Gardens stencil, but notice I shortened that left ear so it was really her. I think it came out pretty well.

SCARVES & WRAPS

I have recently become a major fan of scarves and wraps. It's like getting to wear a little safety blanket!

And, of course, my all time Fall fave...

FOOTBALL!

Specifically, LSU Football. And we're undefeated so far, so HELL YEAH, GEAUX TIGERS!!!

What I'm Wearing

AC is always trying to get me to post about what I wear. But let's face it- I'm just not much of a fashion statement! I posted about my wedding attire and none of you showed me a bit of love. (Do you feel sufficiently chastised now? ;))

However- while getting dressed this morning, I felt particularly festive. I took Friday Casual Day to the next step and threw on an LSU t-shirt. Probably a bit too far, but hey- it's football season! And last Friday I was missing kick-off weekend for Stef. So I needed my time to shine.

I snapped a quick shot for you this morning before I started my work day. Sorry if I look a little out of it- hadn't had enough coffee yet!

Shirt: Izod Collegiate 

Jeans: Abercrombie & Fitch

Watch: gift from Shannon

Football Season

Hallelujah and Prise the Lord- its almost football season again!! I am on the countdown for September 4th, girlies, and I have ants in my pants!

My true love, LSU, will be back on the field. If I knew how to post music on this thing, I would play you my phone's ringtone so that you could feel the goosebumps shoot up your arms at that starting drum roll and the Tiger Rag!

Unfortunately we open the season in the Georgia Dome. But thankfully the band sounds amazing anywhere, the fans will drive, Bourbon and beer are sold in Atlanta, and North Carolina's blood will look just as good on that field. I'm awful, I know. But I bleed purple and gold!

And also...

I'm debating how I feel about so many new Saints fans in the mix after the Super bowl win. I mean, on the one hand it's about time. On the other- they don't deserve true fan stature if they haven't loved that gold Fleur de Lis all the years that it was sadly, sadly black... Thoughts??

Stuck on the Bottom

I have been butting heads with my life lately. I want it to go one way, it is going another. Or staying another, you could say. I feel stuck. And I've been thinking and praying a lot about all of that lately. Last night I was thinking about my Daddy, and his analogy of being "Stuck on the Bottom" popped into my head.

As you have probably figured out, I grew up fishing with my Daddy; in Cocodree, Grand Isle, Pensacola... I was (and am) my Daddy's fishing buddy. We fished the bottom with weighted lines a lot to get the best trout. And I had a special propensity for getting stuck on the bottom, tangled up in rocks, garbage, a dock, even old graves in south Louisiana, where the coastline recedes yearly. I would, of course, get immensely frustrated and yell (probably scaring away all fish in the vicinity), "Daaaaady, I'm stuck on the bottom!" And he would patiently come and untangle my pole- usually laughing at me. I still do this to him. But every now and then, I would just think I was stuck, when actually- I had a HUGE fish! This would, of course, lead to squeals  and demanding my pole back and much excitement.

My senior year in college, our sorority asked the senior's parents to write a letter of encouragement to their daughters stepping out into the world after graduation. Guess whose parent was the only one who responded? Yep, my Daddy. This was his life advice to me, and I still keep it tucked in my Bible.

Dear Sweetpea,
I know this will be read in front of your sorority sisters, so I will try not to embarrass you. First, I want to tell you how much I love you. Words can't convey it, but those big hugs can. I am the luckiest daddy in the world (for those of you that don't know it, she still sits in my lap- and I love it). I also want to say how proud of you I am. I would be just as proud of you if you were at another school, but it is fun to have another gung-ho Tiger Fan in the house...
I don't know what is coming after graduation. This is an anxious time in your life. I understand. I have been through it. Don't be scared to make a decision. We can talk over the pros and cons, but but you always have the final say in your life. You have a good heart and common sense, continue to use them. Even if you make a decision you regret later, it can be corrected. Your mother and I will always be behind you. Remember that whenever you think "you are stuck on the bottom," it just might be a big fish.
Love, Daddy

#1: If you aren't crying right now there's something wrong with you!
#2: This is great advice for all of us any time we're facing a tough spot and what seems like an inability to make a change. You might feel stuck, but you never know what's really happening.

Thank you, God, for a Daddy that believes in me.

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Daddy-O

Kendall inspired me- tribute to Daddies!!

My daddy is such a sweet, precious human being. He's raised three girls and never missed a beat without a son. When we were little he used to say, "Pink, pink, pink- All I see in Pink!!" and then he moved on to simply selecting pink as his favorite color.

The poor man has endured so much- we used to decorate his underwear! So serious! And bless him, he WORE them. He always wears khaki pants and once he was at an LSU football game in the pouring rain, so I guess you could see the bright paint through them. The people behind him told them they loved him too, since his underwear read, "I love you Daddy." I'm laughing right now...

Other things he endured/endures:
Dance recitals, glittery horse show outfits, his recliner covered in off white and pink rose pattern, sleeping on vintage sheets with ruffles every night, living in a house with pink walls (so serious- the living room is pink), being forced to always, always, always put the toilet seat down, sit down dinners with the good china for no reason, his bathroom full of chabby chic antiques...

I wish I'd thought to bring some baby pics to scan. But here's a few of my recent Daddy faves:

Fishing (in "Big Church") on a Sunday morning

The morning he was so incredibly proud that I talked my way out of a $500 fine with the Wildlife Official from my 1/4 inch too short fish because of my LSU t-shirt.

Spam Hat

Death Valley t-shirt

The parents!

One of our many Margarita dates

Playing with me at the NAS Museum

Daddy's Girls (literally, my Mama calls him "Daddy"  quite often)

And he gets an extra HUGE tribute this Father's Day for SAVING VAN!! Yesterday he spent his afternoon off at home with her instead of relaxing so he could feed her tiny meals every half hour. 

We're pretty sure she's on the up-and-up these days. She's got a long way to go, but the prognosis seems good.

I LOVE MY DADDY!!!

Favorites and an Update

First  and foremost, My Vannie is a bit better today! I have cried like a baby over every sign of life. Still not eating, but she perks up for a few minutes anyhow. Thank you, thank you for your thoughts for her. I am so, so over attached to her, I know! But she's been through a lot with me in the last 3 years and she's been my only constant. :)

Now- favorite places to be! Such fun to think about!

LSU!!!

 

I woke up to this view every morning when we lived in the Sorority house and caught the bus outside!

You pretty much don't know me AT ALL if you don't know that I adore LSU! I was born when my Daddy was in vet school there, grew up going back and playing there and adored walking around the amazingly beautiful campus going to school. Huge, live oaks, the LSU lakes to walk around! So gorgeous!! I love just passing the entry gates! I am happy when I arrive. 

A Cabin in the Woods by a Creek

I get this from Mama- we do NOT camp, but we love playing in the woods and relaxing by a creek. We've always taken vacations to little cabins in the woods as a family.

Almost Anywhere with Niki or my Sisters

Amanda and I in a little German village in Georgia. Notice she is grabbing my "boob"

Fourth of July fireworks

My Bestest Friend

With My Horse

Up until about 2 years ago, you could bet on finding me with this amazing creature at least 3 days a week. I started riding him when we were both 8 and was with him when he died at 27. And I will be with him again one day- because, did you know, Jesus is coming back on a white horse!!

Gathered in the Living Room or Kitchen with my Family

I am SO blessed with my family. The five of us have been through so many ridiculous, crazy, awful, fun and completely unexplainable situations together. Hurricanes, Christmases in Heaven-knows-where, vacations... it's nuts. When we're together, you can always find us all five in the same room for most of the time- usually the kitchen or living room.