Sumo Wrestling, Psycho Birds and Creepy Pumpkins

I've already posted today (twice!) but I'm making up for lost time, lucky readers. Picture this-- its Friday night, I'm watching America's Next Top Model and relaxing after a terribly long week. Mom and I are discussing decorations and food for the Grove tomorrow (philosophical differences keep rearing their ugly head-- do we use Halloween decorations which will clearly clash with the usual reb/blue/Ole Miss/Colonel Reb decorations? Or ignore the Holiday altogether in an effort to keep the tablescape uniform? Again, reasons why I don't sleep well at night.)

Then a knock at the door and my cousin Em (fav!) and our friend Mal come right on in. I'm glad to see them, especially Mal since I've not seen her in forever and she's lots of fun (not that Em's not fun, but I see her all the time! Including, tomorrow morning at 7:40!). We are catching up and Mal's loving on Parker and noting her new cute haircut, when the door opens and someone else comes in. Its a totally fabulous Friday night surprise:





Its out of control. Aunt Ju and Lo (avid readers will remember Lo from Betsy and Peter's visit back during the summer. She's a part of the family!)!! Lo lives a couple houses away from mine, but alas, they did not walk but drove instead. However, my joy was not deterred. I literally jumped up and down I was laughing so very hard.



Stuck between a rock and a hard place...



The wrestlers decided to sit down and stay a while:





Em and I even took a whirl with the wrestlers:



And of course, me and Sweet Parker-- she left the room after a while-- I'm guessing we kinda freaked her out!



We laughed and laughed and laughed. Aunt Ju recounted the recent bird attack at her house with Lo and Mal, and I danced to the broken pumpkin song (I can't explain-- you'll have to come see in person!)

We had the best time-- it seems like way too long since we've all been together. I've been a little busy and a lot distracted these last couple weeks for many different reasons, so I really enjoyed getting back to who I am-- someone who loves to enjoy the people around them, who loves to laugh, who loves being around people who love her!! I so needed to sit around with some of the people I love and laugh until my head hurt! It was amazing and an absolutely fantastic way to end a long week! Hope you enjoy these pictures as well! Now off to bed with visions of a Rebel win tomorrow!!!

I've not got the hang of this blog thing yet...

I've just posted a blog about my DisneyWorld trip-- it was started right after I got back but I just now finished it and its apparently posted before my more recent posts. So, scroll down and read it! If you don't I'll come to your house and make you listen to the story behind every single one of my hundreds of pictures. I'm dead serious.

Yeah, yeah, yeah...

So I've not put up my Disney pictures (I tried a while back and the pictures wouldn't upload and I'm not known for my patience). Still working on that, and I've not posted very often since I've gotten back cause I've been in a bit of a funk. But hopefully that is over now! I've actually been quite flattered by all the people fussing at me to get my blog back up and running! Thanks you guys-- your Christmas gifts will be especially fabulous this year!!

I did a Facebook quiz today and I'm anxious to see what people think about the accuracy of this. Anyone have any thoughts about this:

You are observant, cooperative, informative, and expressive. You are greatly concerned with the health and welfare of those under your care and you are the nurturer of established social institutions such as businesses, churches, social clubs, and schools. You are the most sociable of the Guardians (SJ's) and you strive to provide friendly social service. You spend a lot of your energy making sure social functions are successful, traditions are upheld, and the needs of others are met.

You are an excellent master of ceremonies or chairperson of social events. Highly cooperative, you are very capable of maintaining teamwork among your workers. You are attentive to details of the goods and services you provide. During social events, you are often able to remember your guests' names after one introduction, and you may appear to be aware of what everyone has been doing.

You are friendly, outgoing, and gregarious. You love to talk and you can become quite agitated when you are isolated from others. You are fascinated about news concerning your friends, neighbors, and local community. You will often strike up conversations with strangers and will talk about anything that comes to mind. If someone wants to know what has been going on in the community, you are often happy to provide the details.

You may be the most sympathetic of the role variants as you are highly sensitive to the feelings of others. This sensitivity can leave you self-conscious as you care about what others think of you. You are affectionate and you feel a need to be loved in return. You can be easily crushed by criticism directed towards you and you strongly desire to be appreciated for who you are and for the service you provide to others.

Famous Providers include William Howard Taft, Dave Thomas, Barbara Walters, and Sam Walton.

I'm especially intrigued by the William Howard Taft reference-- I mean, I've always dreamed of being just like the guy, but now, it seems like my dreams have come true. Me and WHT-- love that guy!!

In other news, here are some things I'm looking forward to:

1. The Grove for the Ole Miss-Auburn game-- it seems like its been a long time since a game and even longer since a game when everyone I love attended. Now, my Katie and David won't be there, but Em and even Betsy will be!! Yay!! I miss the Grove food and seeing everyone and I really miss winning ballgames. I doubt that'll happen this week, but you never know...

2. Getting back on meds-- many of you know I take my crazy pills (to keep me from going crazy) but I've been off them for a long time (don't really have a good reason, just not a lot of extra money) and I'm headed back to the doctor this week ($75.00 no-insurance charge be darned) to get my prescription refilled. I think everyone can breathe a collective sigh of relief. And if you breathe quietly, and after I'm back on my pills, I won't bite your collective heads off.

3. Parade of Flags at FBC-- its in less than 2 weeks and I've spent a lot of time and energy trying to organize it this year. The past two years I was "in charge" though in name only-- other, older women did most of the heavy lifting since I'd never participated or even watched a Parade. This year, though, its just me. And since our Children's Minister Joan has been busy with a lot of other things (church building moving and renovation, an early Parade that comes right after Trunk or Treat), I'm basically trying to do as much as I can for her. The costumes are finally coming together and I've been working on the script today. I'm really excited!!!

4. Trunk or Treat-- I'm dressing up as Esther. Its Joan's idea and I think it will be a good one. I'm actually really looking forward to it. I mean, I get to dress up as a Queen!! How fun??!! And while I'd like to pretend what I look like on the outside doesn't really matter, I do hope people think I make a pretty, or at least, decent Queen, and don't wonder why I am wearing a Halloween costume that's totally misrepresentative of what I look like! I hope I get a couple compliments at least! Y'all know how insecure I am!

5. Getting out my winter clothes. Yes, its still 80 degrees outside during the day, but its chilly at night and anyone who knows me knows I'm always cold! I've already started wearing sweaters in the office and socks to bed at night. Soon, my fingers will freeze and they won't thaw out till March. I love my winter clothes. And yes, for all you haters, my Uggs will still be in the rotation. I love them. They are comfy. They are warm. I've had them longer than anyone I know and I will continue to have them long after you people stop wearing your Toms. Its true love, not some casual dating thing. And, yes, to all who are wondering, I WILL still be wearing my blue Uggs that my dear Katie so graciously bought me off the sale rack at TJ Maxx a couple years ago. In fact, I wore them this morning while walking Parker. Be jealous.

So, I'm finally back from DisneyWorld!!

I know all my avid readers are glad I'm back from my DisneyWorld trip! I've actually been back for a long time, but it seemed that as soon as I got back, lots of stuff started happening and I'm just now getting caught up! I'm glad to be back to, but it was one of the most fun vacations I've ever had! I was absolutely obnoxious about taking pictures, so I'll have a lot to post about at a later date. Today I'm going to post a little bit and then get back to being a bum. I'm also planning to clean the kitchen and do a bit of work, so we'll see how that goes. Its just good to be home with the beautiful weather we've had and knowing Fall is finally here! These next three months are the best three months of any year, at least to me, so I'm looking forward to good things happening for me and those I love.

So, now to get back to what I know you're all DYING to hear about--- HARRY POTTER!!! I went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter on my vacation and it was absolutely worth the extra money I spent! I had the best time! I went by myself since the other girls had to head on home but that didn't bother me a bit. Here are some of the pictures from my trip-- a random sampling, if you will. Since its my blog, I'll be posting in detail, of course, many other pictures I took, and since its your life, you don't have to read those posts. But for now....

Our trip was a "Girls Trip" with 4 other women-- Allison, Lesley, Shelby and Sonya. I was a bit apprehensive about this trip because I only knew Allison pretty well, Lesley somewhat and had only recently met Shelby and Sonya, AFTER this trip was planned! And traveling can be stressful anyway, so I was a bit nervous-- but it was all for naught as we got along wonderfully! I really had a blast and hope they did too! I love these girls!!

Friday, Shelby and I headed down to Destin where Allison, Lesley, their families and two other couples had been at the beach all week. Lesley cooked spaghetti and we had a good time relaxing before out 5:45 a.m. departure. Here we are fixing our plates (you can see the steam off the spaghetti pot! We were concerned because we'd heard there was celery in this recipe, but it turned out delicious!) Thats Shelby in the light blue, Allison in the dark blue and Lesley's husband, Eric.



Here are Wyatt, Gracie and Campbell. Wyatt and Campbell are Lesley's children, and I met that that evening- but they were so cute! And adorable Gracie (Allison's daughter) has been in my class at church before and she is just about the most precious thing I've ever met! Love Gracie!



First Day - Epcot!!



Back to Earth after a 3D Space Mission to Mars:



Second Day - Magic Kingdom - obviously they knew I was coming because they decorated for my favorite season-- coincidence? I think not!




Shelby and Allison on tram ride from parking lot:



Visited Minnie's house but she wasn't there. Girl has good taste though!



The next day we went to Hollywood studios where we rode the Tower of Terror-- TWICE! It was so fun and we barely had to wait! The second time, Sonya was brave enough to hold her hands above her head, but yours truly never let go of her death grip on the seat!



Lots of stuff we did that week required 3D glasses:



A soldier guarding the super cool Toy Story ride!



At Hollywood studios:



Beauty and the Beast was the most fun!



We ate at the Brown Derby at Hollywood Studios-- the best Cobb Salad! My favorite meal of the week! After we ate, the rain came down:



We took refuge at the American Idol Experience Finals!



Later that night we hit Downtown Disney where I proceeded to spend way too much money on souvenirs (most of which I've not even unpacked!) in just a few minutes. I spent the rest of the time people watching. These Lego tourists were apparently fascinated by me and kept trying to take my picture. As Betsy would say, paparazzi. It comes with being a VIP.



Allison and I at Epcot



Lady who made the coolest animals out of candy. Unfortunately, we didn't get to taste or even buy any, but it was still neat!!



Since I was a Disney newbie (I'd been before but it was years ago-- like Nicholas was a toddler!), my girls were very nice and let me pick what we would do and they took good care of me!! And at the end of the week, I was brave enough to venture a ride on the monorail all by myself!!! They were so proud of their grown up little girl!!



And finally, the most important thing I bought on the trip-- the best $5 I've ever spent-- to keep me semi-dry the day it poured in Epcot!



Now dear readers, rest assured, this is simply a random smattering of my pictures from my trip-- I still have literally hundreds more to show you! Lucky you!!! From time to time, I might add some more pictures and expand on my trip, but for now, this is all the time I have (lucky you!). However, there will be more about my Harry Potter visit!!

A Desperate Housewife and a mortician walk into Papa Johns...

EVAN ALERT!!!

Yesterday afternoon, Parker and I are outside walking and Evan comes out with a bag of trash.

Evan: Hey Jess!!! Hey Parker!!! How's it going? I'm taking out the trash- come walk with me! (walks to where I am, reaches over, still holding the garbage bag and gives me a hug and a kiss on the hair)

Me: Um, okay. (Walks two steps into the yard with Parker.)

Parker: Finds a shady spot, plops down and watches us.

Evan: What's been going on? I've been kinda busy. I've got family coming in from California today. So, tonight I'll have family stuff to do, I'm sure.

Me: Family Stuff! Sounds fun!

Evan: Not really, I don't like this family very much. Except my cousin. We are close, he's an awesome guy. He's a total Queen (holds out his limp wrist to show me) but no one in my family thinks that, they just think he's effeminate. I know though, I love him. He's a drama queen!

Me: Oh. Good that you guys are so close!

Evan: And I don't get to see him much-- he's a mortician out in California, and he is also an interior designer. So he's a mortician - slash - interior designer. He does all the funeral home stuff and gets the bodies ready and then usually, when he's done going that, he goes into the other room and does all the flowers. He's really good at it.

Me: Oh, wow.

Evan: And he moonlights at an interior design firm and they've decorated Eva Longoria Parker's house-- well, the house of the baseball player she married. His house, but he met her and he loves her. Says she's adorable.

Me: What an interesting job! That's pretty cool.

Evan: Yes, he's so cool. (does limp wrist again and sashays across the yard)

Parker: Hasn't moved her eyes off Evan.

Me: Evan, where do you work?

Evan: I work for John Swartzfager [attorney in town] and I do research when he needs me. He pays pretty well. I only have a few hours to finish before I am done with school, and that job pays me well enough to pay my rent. Oh and sometimes I work at Papa John's. You should come over sometime and have a beer with me. It would be fun! Or come over for dinner. I cook dinner nearly every night. Tonight I'm cooking chicken alfredo. Yes, you should come over anytime for a beer or dinner!!

Me: Oh, okay, um, well, maybe so. I'm going on vacation in a couple days so maybe when I get back!

Evan: Yes, just stop by anytime!!! (reaches over, gives me another hug, sans the garbage bag)

Me: Ok, bye.

Parker: Rolls over onto her bag and looks like a crazy person.

So, that's my Evan interaction for this week. Its getting more and more interesting. And, if you read my Evan story, you'll know I am going on vacation soon-- DISNEYWORLD!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited. I haven't been to Disney since Nicholas was a toddler. He was a little baby and when we were unloading the car, Betsy apparently pulled the door behind her and he was locked in the cabin rental all alone. Dad was fussing at Betsy, mom was worried the toilet seat might be up and they were all trying to get Nicholas to come over to the door and unlock it himself. Betsy was crying and it was hilarious!! I love love love my siblings but I took a secret, sick delight in watching them get in trouble. Especially Betsy, she was bratty (but I love you, Bets!!). So the entire scene was hilarious to me. Made even funnier after we called security and when they finally arrived, my dad realized the key was in his pocket the entire time. Hopefully, there won't be any drama like that this trip! I'm going with several women from the Laurel area-- one I know well, one I don't know very well, and two I've only met in the last few days. Its an adult-only girl trip! Going to be a blast!! I'm leaving Friday and will be back late next Wednesday!

Even better than Disney is where I'll be Tuesday and Wednesday-- HARRY POTTER!!! The New Wizarding World of Harry Potter!! I can play Quittich, drink butter beer and pumpkin juice and wear the sorting hat. I'm staying an extra day and going by myself. When I tell people that, they think I'm crazy for being by myself. But, um, NO-- I LOVE being by myself. I'm pretty sure that after a few days with people around me all the time, I will be ready for some alone time. Plus, its Harry-freaking-Potter. I'd go there with my worst enemy, if necessary (looking at you, P. Chesser).

Anyway, I'm really excited about my trip-- my traveling mates are all seasoned Disney travelers and I'm a newbie so I'm glad they can take care of me!! I'll be taking tons of pictures for the blog!!!! Now off to wash clothes and finish up some working!!

Fall Weekend Mind Cleaning...

So there have been lots of things I've been wanting to post lately, but I've not had much time this past week-- lots of driving. By the way, a really good gift to give me would be a membership to the Audio-Book-Of-The-Month Club. That and a towel heater for my bathroom. But seriously, its beginning to be ridiculous how much time I spend in my vehicle (its not just me, many other small-town solo practitioners do as well, especially those of us who maintain two offices-- don't scoff- there are a LOT of attorneys who have more than one office!!).

So, this weekend, I skipped the Ole Miss-Vandy game and stayed home to clean, rest and relax. I cleaned a lot and, more importantly, I got out my Fall Decorations!! If you know me, you know I LOVE decorating my house for any and all occasions, or if there is no occasion, I like to redecorate whats already there. I like to think that one of my talents is taking what I've got and making it look good in my house. I'm a gal on a budget. Which I usually ignore. Okay, I didn't say one of my talents was staying ON a budget.

Also, about this time every year there is a very important philosophical (it literally took me like 5 times to get that word correctly spelled!) debate that goes on in my mind. Now that I've determined its time to put out the fall decorations, do I put out Fall decorations? Halloween Decorations? Both? It gets really deep inside my head. I mean, its "fall" time, but most "fall" decorations coincide with Thanksgiving-y decorations. And Thanksgiving is AFTER Halloween. But it really seems strange to put up Halloween decorations in the middle of September. And yet, it seems okay to put up harvest-y decorations in the middle of September. Do you know see why I don't sleep at night?

But this year, I silenced the voices in my head (for now) and put up pretty much ALL my decorations. I love to buy decorations at the end of the season and put them away till next season, so then I get a great "Surprise" when I pull stuff out, having forgotten about the new stuff! That is one of my favorite things about decorating, and a trick I used a lot during law school-- Oxford had ridiculously beautiful Christmas decorations which were ridiculously priced as well, but when you came back from Winter Break, most stuff was 75% off!! Fabulous!!

I had a blast decorating yesterday and was pleasantly surprised I was able to get it all cleaned up before I went to bed last night. As you can see, I took down a lot of my regular decorations, pictures, etc., and basically put up all new stuff. I'll do the same at Christmas!!!

I'm also including some pictures and commentary on my trip to NOLA last weekend.

Penny and I at Sazerac Bar in the Roosevelt Hotel, NOLA.



Parker and I went to New Orleans City Park Sunday afternoon before we left town. She had been such a sweet girl all weekend and we didn't get to play outside very much because of all the rain, so I promised her we'd go play! Penny and her friend Sherrod had gone the day before and I was so glad we went! I cannot wait to go back when its a bit cooler.



I had a snack of my cupcake from Be Sweet.



Parker spent a lot of time waiting for me to drop some of that cupcake on the ground.



We walked on the pretty walking trails. We had fun running and playing but it was very hot.






We took a self-portrait on the bridge in front of the fountain. She didn't like doing this, but I insisted. Especially since she would not let me take a picture of her on this cool looking twisty tree that would have made an adorable Christmas card. She's such a diva.



The cool modern art scupltures and the New Orleans Museum of Art, that I plan on visiting soon! Parker doesn't really like modern art though.





Some of my souvenirs from NOLA. I bought my mom some candy, my aunt some Bloody Mary mix, my friend Lori some Hurricane mix and my cousin a cute picture (which I haven't given to her so I didn't photograph it since she is an avid reader of my blog [though not an avid commenter. Leave some comments, people. I love them!])

A cute magnet. I love magnets. This one is currently holding Nicholas' new "calling cards"! So cute!!



Some crown napkins to use for the Miss America party. They rang up as $25,447.96. I thought that was a bit overpriced. I mean, $20,000.00 was a bit expensive, but there was no freaking way I'd pay $25,000.00 for them. I know the economy's tanking and prices are rising, but they aren't that cute. Luckily, the cashier gave me a discount of approximately $25,444.01.



Now for the Decorations!!!

So we'll know when mom is at home. She is home now, hence the sign.



All decorations from the dining room! Love my purple-- it looks really good with Halloween decorations!






The hallway telephone shelf



Decorations in the living room:

As you can see, I've replaced the other picture with my new Easely Amused picture, "Groovy Grove". I promised Karen a blog post about it, so here it is!! I had the best time and I think my picture turned out pretty good!! More about that later!!



My "Spooky" wreath on the front door. Actually, on the inside of the front door. We don't use the front door ever.





My favorite thing in the entire house is my mantle. I love it!! I think it looks like something in a store or something!! I sometimes have a hard time getting my mantle and my piano top to look good, but I'm pretty pleased with both of these. I even think the terrible wall color doesn't look bad with all these decorations up!!



Parker watching me decorate and take pictures. She didn't even offer to help.