Getting Older.

My great grandmother is turning eighty something today. I think she's almost 90. She's a hoot.
A nutty hoot.
She's worth telling you about for sure and maybe I'll be able to post some pictures of the snazzy lady herself. We are having dinner at a local Mexican restaurant for her birthday tonight. Sadly this is probably the first time we have ever celebrated it as a family because we have never all lived in the same city at the same time.
I hope the green onions and peppers won't give her birthday heartburn or gas.
Can you imagine?
Mr. Broome is already iffy about going.
Remember that time I told you about her hitting on him? She think she's a cougar for reals.
GG, that's what we call her, is as sassy as they come. She says people call her "Sexy Sybil." I tell her that's inappropriate for my younger ears. That's ok though because many time she has to be reminded exactly who I am.
She still drives her little Camry around town, scooting about, complaining about her tenants. She has a couple of rental houses and has an affinity for "checking in" on them. Some say this is against the law. GiGi says she was only feeding their cat(ie. cleaning their kitchen, observing their unmade beds, wondering why they still have not done their laundry)
I guess all of her tenants move out because she parks her other car, a van in their yard, and keeps her cat at the property she's renting. Its quite convenient to check on your tenants everyday while "feeding" your cat.
GiGi is simply more clever than we take her for.

But really.

We love her. Even when she wears her Halloween sweater vest year round, and by year round I mean I have seen it twice in the past week.
Isn't that what makes the elderly so darn sweet?

In all seriousness, while there is much to joke about with her, she really is a dear soul in our family. She loves everyone even when she forgets our names or relationship to her. She cries sometimes when you see her because she values family and friends and is fully delighted by visits.

Thats all.

I read HERE a good piece of advice and fitting for today. For me anyways.
"Do the next thing."
That's its.
Are you stressed with work, school, money, illness? Are you sad about a family members health? Have you lost someone you love? Are you disappointed in who you see yourself as lately?
Follow the above link. I don't know, it just might help.

A and Russ

KBroome and Mr. Broome

Lydia and Ryan

Russ, dancing or cartwheeling, or maybe channeling God, Himself as a thanks for no rain!

The Betsy King

TicTacToe

Where Karaoke goes down

Our men. Handsome.

Couples. couples.
We were so very thankful for a weekend away with friends. It really was a nice chance to get to know Ryan and Lydia better and we loved meeting her brother and fiance. Adrianne and Russ had a fun time too and its very obvious that July 11th is almost too far away for them!

We heard news Friday night of Jay Chapman passing in a car wreck on the way to his bachelor weekend. We knew who he was from a far and definitely feel for his fiance and family.
Keep them in your prayers. I cannot imagine how hard this is on them.

The Thigh Master

(picture taken from iceicebaby.com)

A couple of weeks ago I visited with my grandad as he was doing some spring cleaning of his "building." It really looks like a barn but it houses all of his collectibles and my grandmothers things from when she was alive.
We chatted as he passed me pictures, pointed out furniture I might like, and then he passed me THE THIGH MASTER. Still in its box, with Susan Somers on the front in a green leotard.

He was so excited.

"Oh hey Kirbey, you'll love this! Your grandmother used to use that thing! Its yours for the taken if you want it!"

Oh my.
THE thigh master. Susan Somers, special edition?
How could I resist?
No you tell me.
How could I?

"I would love it Padaddy, I will use it for sure!"

And I have been. Are you weirded out readers? Are you thinking you might be too good for the thigh master circa 1990?
Well let me be the first to tell you.. Its like a portable gym. Its not just for the thighs. It provides endless work out options for the arms, abs, butt, back, maybe even calves! I know this because I read the pamphlet that was still in the box.

If you're not scared to take the thigh master plunge go here. Endless amounts of cheap thigh masters still out there people.

Andy and I stayed up on a school night(you can do this when you're grown up!)on Monday. We discovered that Marley and Me was finally on On Demand. We had been checking every weekend. I didn't think this kind of sap story would reel in Mr. Broome because he's a toughie and he likes his action flicks. For some reason though, he wanted to see this one just as much as I did.
So we watched.
It was darling and yes, it'll make you cry.
It'll probably make you cry if you have a dog who you are attached to. Or if you once had a dog as a kiddo and it choked on a chicken bone in the back yard.(What? That was only me??)
As the movie came to an end, we noticed Betsy was not in the room with us. So we hollered for her. We needed our Betsy to love on and appreciate after such an emotional movie hour.
We headed to bed and got all kinds of snugged in when Mr. Broome did a very surprising thing.
Remember now that Betsy is not allowed to sleep on the bed. EVEN though I raised her to sleep with me every night when we were a single mom and pup living in a house full of girls. It was only natural that we facilitate the sleepover feeling given our room mates were girls and their pups were sleeping with them too.
Andy patted the bed twice and said "c'mon Betsy."
She was up and in between us faster than I would be out of bed if a storm were coming.
That's fast.
She layed her mutt head on her daddy's chest and fell asleep. We all three snuggled tight. So tight. Sharing good night breath tight.

B's gettin married.
We had to have a celebration.
So
To ATL we went.
For dinner at Rosa Mexicana.(The best thing about this place is the diving men wall and over priced guacamole- we loved it.)
Then to Ten Pin Bowling alley. (very swanky, makes for nice pictures, but bring a big group)
It was fabulous. B was glowing when she opened her especially sassy gifts.
Illie entertained us with work stories.


This is the bride. Look at her sash. Do you want to know why we call her bumblebee? That's for another post another day.

The bowling alley. I loved the big, colorful lights. The color scheme was right up Britt's alley.

Give em one shoe take two of theirs.

Me with my bf, the bride, the lady of the night.

The bride and her bridesmaids. Such a lovely group of ladies. Can anyone spot Melinda from I'm not lying?

Whats in those bags? Oh no friend, that for Phil's eyes only.

Saturday, B had another shower. This one included chocolate eclairs(my favorite part) and many gifts for B. I was terribly jealous.
Andy you need to propose again.


This is Ally. B's aunt hosted the shower along with this precious pup. Can you tell shes completely spoiled?

B opening her gifts. She was excited. She just couldn't wait to call Phil and tell him about all of their new goodies.


Thats the weekend wrap up:)

B is getting married.
Its her batchelorette party tonight.
Where were going?
What are we doing?

That'll be a story for Monday.


Here is a story for today.

A few weekends ago, Mr. Broome went to play golf. Left to my own, I got up super early and ran my first 10 miler(whoohoo). After my run I was feeling a little deserving. Since no one was there to hand me a gold medal, I decided to meet my mom for a Bluegrass Festival. You know we Georgians love our bluegrass.
So after listening to music, sucking back some Italian ice, and moseying through the handmade stands, I found it.
The bunny game.
Buy a bucket of balls.
Make one ball in the cup and win a bunny.
After 16 tries, I finally made it.
I won a bunny.
and since I was feeling so deserving.. I took it home.
It wasn't until after said bunny was in my arms that I thought about Mr. Broome.
What will Mr. Broome say?
He will not be happy. He will chuck it in the field for Betsy to chase. He will holler at me and ask me what I was thinking.
But he didn't.
He was calm.
He said "no" and got back on his lawn mower.

But I don't take "no" for an answer without pleading.
And it has gotten me where I am today.(this very day)
Does anybody need a lop eared baby bunny??
They poop A LOT.

Mr. Broome doesn't like to use a towel more than once. So he showers, steps out, picks a crisp, clean white towel from under his sink, dries off, and throws it in a corner in the bathroom. Such a prince.
Or.
He will dry off, hang up his towel, and quietly refuse to use it again. Its just for looks when he hangs it back up. Its to satisfy me, the enforcer. He will hang it up and then when it comes time for his next shower he will "forget" that there is a perfectly good towel hanging up and pull a new one from his cabinet.
I am on to you Mr. Broome.

So as you could surmise, laundry piles up pretty quick at my house. I like to try and do a load a night so that it doesn't becoming an overwhelming task, but that's not always possible.

Which leads me to this question: When in the world will I have time to wash all of the white towels when we have a kid? Or two kids? Or three? What would I do with 3 mini me Andy's who have a serious phobia of once used towels??
The same theme leads me to wonder when there will ever be time when we have kids. I almost, sort of, can't live without my nightly runs or snoogle Dancing with the Stars fest.
If you have a child, you probably can't sympathize and maybe you think I need to get my selfless check in order.
You're right.
When I have children, I'll make them run with me. I'll make them snoogle with me. And Andy can wash the white towels.

I dropped my cousin off at high school this morning. When he opened the door to get out of the big white truck that I so lovingly call mine right now... I could smell it.
High school.
I immediately felt tense.
High school, as many fun memories as I have from it still makes me cringe. Especially the whole arriving there thing.
Remember my old Firebird? The red one with tee tops? Yeah, that's one reason why.
Does high school give you the willies still?
I hated walking in the doors every morning. I was usually hungry but running late for home room. I was always feeling a little frazzled knowing I was walking in to people looking at me. Or were they? This could possibly lead one to think that maybe I was a negative thinker in my younger years.
Possibly not though.

But then again I loved high school. I loved cheer leading practice mainly and my cheer leading uniform. I loved most of my teachers. Of course I loved my friends.

High school is all kinds of pressure though. Pressure for good grades, to dress within the realm of normalcy, to date, etc.

I know this sounds crazy, but I literally wake up some mornings and think to myself.. "Oh my, I am so freaking glad that I get to go to work today and not high school."
That just sounds crazy doesn't it?

The beach continued

My man loves a dock full of boats. I think he would live on one if permissable.

The sunset each night was amazing. Maybe the scarce amount of people and feeling like it was all ours to enjoy.

Betsy didn't want to leave. Packing the car we found her walking out to the beach, turning around looking at us. Can't we stay mom and dad?

Self timer.

Wake up. Eat breakfast. Fish, fish, fish. Sunbathe. Walk. Fish, fish some more.

New Header

Forget professional headers, I'll just use my pictures. Its pretty emotional, the new header, yes? Betsy's fierce, passionate running could possibly bring one to tears. My opinion anyway.

positive news on negative thoughts

I am a control freak. I worry about everything including things I have absolutely no control over, ie. the weather, who might die in a car accident, etc. My worry possess me to attempt to control the world and people around me. Maybe it has effected you.
My husband, sweet man that he is, has brought my attention to this fact and that overall it can make me seem very negative at times. Me negative? I have never viewed myself as a negative person. I guess this is what growing up and "finding yourself" is all about.
So this post is sort of dedicated to our one year anniversary and Mr. Broome.
Its really a big "thank you." Thanks to you Mr. Broome for pointing out the negative parts of me. When made aware of them, I see how imperfect I am and though this sounds sarcastic, it is true. No one should go about life thinking they are patched together perfectly with precisely stitched seams, and a glowing warmth for those around. By pointing out the negative you have further proved my need for forgiveness and love that only the Lord can give in as much abundance as I need.
If I sound too hard on myself, please believe I'm not.
A little background- Andy had become agitated with my taking things he said out of context, getting upset over small things, expecting him to be where I wanted him, how I wanted him, when I wanted him, doing what I wanted him to do, etc,etc. See how its all about me? And when these situations didn't play out how I wanted them to, I was negative.
I worried that if things didn't go my way that my plans for life might fall apart, that Andy would tire of me, that I wouldn't be happy, etc,etc. Worry is such a consuming thing. Thats why the Lord tell us to have faith, not worry, but isn't that so much easier said than done?
So I am a work in progress. Not close to perfection but finding the perfect love and comfort in the Lord.
I tell you this to share and be accountable for what I say I will change about myself.
I know my close friends who read this will know its true.
And Mr. Broome, I love you and your continuing effort to love me even when I can be negative.

Have you all met Betsy. Most of you have but there could possibly readers out there who haven't. I hope so, I love the thought of mystery readers.
Betsy, our beloved half lab half something else roughed it at the beach with us. We were so excited to take her because she LOVES water, swimming, fetching sticks, etc. We knew she would love the beach.
However after a 5 hour ride away from her home and snuggle spots, and her first day on the beach in sand and sun, she was not a happy girl. We came home from dinner our first night to find that she had something wrong with her butt. Yes, her butt.
Mind you now, we believe she made all of this up, pulling her sympathy card that we so lovingly fall prey to.
Betsylouwhoo, the betsers, betserbear could not sit on her butt.
She would poop and run from it after.
If you touched her tail she would snap and whine.
So. Andy and I got a little worried. Where in the heck was a vet on this small, small beach at 10:30 at night?
No worries.
We had aloe. I thought possibly the sand irritated her pooper or she backed into a cactus on the porch(Andy did the night before). So aloe, soothing as it is, would surely handle this problem.
Andy distracted her while I went in to the kill, aloe lubed finger and all. Betsy whipped her head around like "Umm really? seriously? It's not even my hiney that is having problems!"
And do you know what?
It wasn't that.
It was her tail.
God bless her. I was just doing what a mother knew best.
I'll have you know that her tail affected her at all times except when chasing birds on the beach. That sassy little girl. She knows just how to get what she wants.

Swept away is having technical difficulties with the header but this is not a new problem.
Mr. Broome and I went to the beach for almost a whole week(whoohoo!) to celebrate our anniversary. We had the very best time and it can be summed up in pictures. I have one or two stories to tell, but for now, I give you pictures.

Our first morning there, Andy caught a red fish. It was a big one. I love the look on his face in this picture, you could tell he was excited.

The love of my life with the love of his. (oh haha KBroome, haha)

One fish, two fish, red fish, ah si thats me, red fish. Dinner fish.


Tired out, posting more pictures later.