I Didn't Forget

I didn't forget my parents' anniversary yesterday. I actually sent them a text first thing yesterday morning, but I didn't say anything about it here. My sister posted a lovely post which you can read here.

I'm so proud of my parents for many things, not the least of which is the example they have set in their marriage. My sisters and I have witnessed the ups and the downs, and through all of it my parents have shown an unbelievable commitment to one another and their family as a whole. I'm so grateful for that! It's rare these days.

I love you, Momma and Daddy! Thank you!!

Atlanta Weekend

I'm finally sitting down to fill you all in on how the weekend of the Bat Mitzvah went and post some pictures. My in-laws, Mackenzie, Taylor, David, and I hit the road 7:30 Friday morning. We arrived without any problems and got all checked in and settled. We then ventured downtown to visit the IKEA store. Wow! It was so cool. We only saw probably half of the store, but we were so tired. I'll definitely have to make another trip. Friday night Patty and Buddy arrived, and we all ate dinner at Longhorn. Yummy, as always!

We were staying at a lovely Hilton Garden Inn that had a delicious breakfast buffet with omelettes, pancakes, and waffles made to order, so Saturday morning we got all dressed up and had breakfast at the hotel. We then headed to Congregation Dor Tamid for Rachel's Bat Mitzvah service. It was a beautiful service in their somewhat new building that wasn't finished when we were down for Jeremy's Bar Mitzvah a couple of years ago. Rachel did an amazing job and showed a poise far beyond her barely 13 years. After we got back to the hotel, it was time for casual clothes and lunch together.




After lunch we all dispersed to hang out with family, lay by the pool, or nap. Then it was time to get all dolled up for the big party at the beautiful Standard Club.




Once there, we had to take a couple of pictures, but then we could enjoy some delicious hors d'oeuvres (crab cakes, lamb chops, smoked salmon/cream cheese) and take in the wonderful decorations. Rachel has a horse named Tim, and shows him, so there was a definite theme for the evening. Our tables were even named after horses in Tim's stable, and we found our names and table assignments on an actual (cleaned and spray-painted) used horseshoe from Tim. We eventually made our way into the ballroom and enjoyed a delicious buffet dinner.





I know most of my readers are like me and don't generally attend parties where people sit in a chair while said chair is hoisted up in the air and carried around the dance floor, but guess what my dear husband got drafted into doing?


We were at the party until 11:00, and we all had a fantastic time! Sunday morning dawned a little too early, but we all were up and on the road back to TN by 10:30 or so.

Book Notes

I just wanted to talk for a minute about the different things I'm reading right now. I normally try to only tackle one book at a time, but you'll see I have three in my sidebar note.

I started the Isabel Dalhousie book in hopes of squeezing it in before I started The Help for book club. I wasn't successful, so I stopped a couple chapters in to read the book club book. I'm not sure how much I'm going to like the Isabel book. I may not finish it...we'll see.

The Help, however, is another thing. This book is fantastic! It's the best book I've read in a long time. It reminds me a little of how I felt when I read Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood for the first time. Parts of it are hilarious, parts of it are horrifying, and all the in between is just wonderfully written! I can't wait for this book club.

I'm listening to Bloodsucking Fiends on my iPod at work. I already listened to the sequel (You Suck) a couple of months ago, so I'm going backwards, but it's very good, too! Very funny!

There's No Place Like Home

We're home from our jaunt to Atlanta. It was a great trip. I'll be back with details, pictures, and videos later.

That's What I Get for Being So Smug

Carla and I went to Youth Congress last night. It was very fun, and we had a good time visiting. I don't get to spend a lot of one-on-one time with Carla. She's very, very busy, and she lives on the other side of town, so I'm not constantly dropping by her house like I do with Liz.

Well, we decided that we weren't going to dress up too much. We weren't going to wear heels for sure. We parked at the publishing house (for free...yay!), and walked from there to the Frist Center (to try to eat at the cafe-closed) to Jack's on Broadway(delish) to the Sommet Center. We walked all the way around the inside of the Sommet Center to decide where to sit. All this time we had been looking with pity at all the silly girls with their ridiculously high heels, and I had been noticing a dull pain on the bottom of both of my feet. It's the spot right between the balls of my feet at the base of my middle toes. By the time church was over, I had two full-blown, painful blisters. Luckily, Brian came up from M'boro in time for preaching, and he was parked fairly close. He and Carla dropped me off at my car. I don't know what I would have done if I had had to walk all the way back to my car. My poor feet...I thought I was being so smart, and I still ended up in pain today!

Two Worlds Clashing

What. in. the. world? Click here.

Okay, I love Mr. Darcy. I love vampires. I'm not sure I want them meddling around with each other, though!

Seriously? I'm still befuddled over this.

Of course, you know I'll have to read it.

Edge of the Party

Okay, so I'm 30, and my days of going to Youth Congress for the whole 3-day debacle are over, BUT I so enjoy hearing stories and seeing pictures of all the festivities. I may even go one night since it's in Nashville.

So, click here to follow all the goings-on. Definitely will be interesting.