The Starter Pool...

I've been home on summer vacation for about nine days now.  In these nine days-- I've been back to work three times.  The first two days were for interviews.  Today I had to briefly stop in to sign a paper that my boss had to refile.  In the last nine days I've also cleaned my house-- cooked a few delightful meals-- and pretended to be a housewife.  Yesterday I helped put up corn from Grandma's garden and tried to find the owner of the little puppy that has taken up at our house. 

In these nine days the Hubster and I have also became the proud owner of a starter pool.  You know, some young couples purchase starter homes.  Not us, we bought a pool.  And rather on impulse, I might add.

The weather had something to do with it.  I don't know about how your weather has been lately-- but 'round these parts... well, it has been horribly h-o-t.  And humid.  And rainless.  So on Sunday, after we'd done the Father's day thing at my house and at his house, we found ourselves in the Mount Olive Wal-Mart talking to the Sales Person about pools.

After a few embarrassing comments from the Sales Person about how our kids will just love this pool and us informing her it was for us-- that we have no kids-- we were the proud new owners of a 1,500 gallon 3 foot blow-up pool and an $8 dollar blow-up raft.

The box read:  Easy set-up!  Be relaxing in the pool in 14 minutes! 

Liar.

It took hours.  Days!

As of today, we've yet to even dip our toes in the water. 

In the five days that we've had this pool, I've made two trips to the pool store for supplies.  Trip #1 consided of buying chlorine tabs and testers.  Trip # 2 was a fact finding mission where I found out the heat is what is making my pool water look a little greenish.  I also found out that I needed to add more chemicals-- stuff to balance the pH and something else that I can't figure out how to spell along with Shock.

The Pool Guy told me that I'd have to Shock my pool at least twice a week to keep that green tint from coming back.  He also told me that since we used well water to fill the pool, the Shock might also make the water green because there could be copper or iron in my water.  If the water turns greener, then I'll make trip # 3 for a Pool Magnet.

When I was a little girl, we had a pool.  A rather large above-ground and I remember it being such a pain for my parents that it didn't last but a few weeks.  My parents instead bought a share to the neighborhood pool and that's where we went up until my sister and I got old enough to be too embarassed to wear a bathing suit in public (and for two completely different reasons-- she was pleasantly plump and I had no boobs).  But the Hubster and I are thinking that we'd like an in-ground pool after we get the dream house built, so this will be our starter pool.

I think it is time to test again-- I'm afraid to find out what is wrong now!  Judging by the way it's looking, I might need to make that third trip for a pool magnet.  Oh, starter pool-- you make me want to purchase a pool share from the local neighborhood pool.

Some Friendly, Unsolicited Wedding Advice-- Series One...

Our anniversary was Wednesday.  We didn't do anything too special for it though.  I had gone for my yearly physical earlier in the day and I was still not over the "physical" part of the phyiscal.  I was unlucky enough to get "handled" by a student doctor who gave me the most painful PAP smear of my life and one of the most uncomfortable examinations I ever hope to encounter while my doctor watched me uncomfortably react. Sounds a little sadistic doesnt' it?   I'm not sure I'm over it yet.  I close my eyes and suddenly I'm transported back to that very long and uncomfortable experience.  I still feel like I have been violated.  But don't feel too bad for us-- the Hubster and me-- we aren't all that into celebrations anyway.  Hopefully this Fall, when things are less stressful, we'll take a little weekend trip to celebrate. (maybe-- I always say that's what we'll do and we never do!)

But I digress.  Thinking back to my wedding, I'd like to offer some friendly, unsolicited wedding advice to any of you in the process of planning a wedding yourself.  I'll call this series one:

It is important that all brides get that "silly" idea out of their heads.  The silly idea I speak of, you ask?  Well, that idea that your wedding day is your day.  As much as it is your day, it is also several other's people's day as well.  Your parents, his parents, your bridal party and most importantly, your invitied guests are spending a great deal of time and money on your wedding and you should treat them well because of that. 

When you take away the ceremony, which truly is for you and your groom, the reception is what is left and it really is a time to treat your guests and bridal party.  It is a time to give back while expressing your style as a couple for the first time.

It is in poor taste when a newly married couple will not allow guests to enter the buffett line before they arrive at the reception because they want to be the first in line.  A few years ago I was invited to my cousin's wedding.  Her parent's had put on a huge spread and had really spared no expense.  When the ceremony ended we were directed a few miles down the road to their home for the reception.  They had the hot DJ of the moment playing soft "cocktail hour" type music and guests were filling in the reception area, except there was no cocktail hour.  Thirty minutes went by and people were milling about... another thirty minutes went by and people were growing a tad restless... another thirty minutes went by and people were hungry and looking for food, but because the bride and groom were not quite finished with the photographer, we were trapped like starving animals in this large reception area with nothing to do.

I remember being angry as I watched that newly married couple start the line for the buffett-- like those eager young kids always do at the family reunion...it was simply tacky. I remember being annoyed and I left shortly after.  Later, a few month after the ceremony I heard my cousin's mom remarking that she couldn't understand why more people hadn't stayed longer.  I knew why-- they were hungry and didn't want to wait any longer for old shrimp cocktail and crab puffs.

If you aren't going to have a cocktail hour-- then start the buffett as soon as possible and don't think that you have to be the first in line.  The reception is a time for you to talk to guests, mingle-- pose for the camera and get complimented on your style and grace. 

Most importantly, being a bride is not just about putting on the white dress and veil.  It is about being a gracious host.  So treat your guests and make them feel comfortable.  If food is your thing-- have the caterers set aside plates for your and your new husband.  This way you will be able to still eat the food you picked out, but won't have to make 200 of your nearest and dearest wait for you to finish other tasks-- like getting your wedding pictures made-- something you are going to not want to skimp on because you will look back at the pictures-- I don't know that you will the food.

So as you start to plan, remember to take out that idea-- that your wedding day is all about you.  In actuallity, it is largely about you and the choices you made for this event.  However, do you want people's first impression of you as a married person to be that of a selfish and spoiled primadonna?

Better yet, show your guests-- your nearest and dearest-- how greatful you and your new husband are to have them celebrate your love and your new status as a married couple.  You want people to leave your wedding thinking, "WOW" and feeling like they were a part of the moment and simply not spectators to the "ME, ME, ME" show.

Series Two :  DJ vs. Band-- Is one really better than the other?

A Brunch or All's Well That Ends Well...

A couple of months ago my sister decided that it would be just a swell idea to throw my cousin-in-law, Candice, who also happens to be a good friend, a nice little post-bridal brunch at my home. I had never thrown a brunch before-- but with the help of my sister and a few friends, it wouldn't be all that difficult, right?


Right away I had ideas. Blue would predominate as the main color choice. Candice had used touches of blue throughout her ceremony back in February and I wanted to honor her choice and have it reflect in our design. To accentuate that choice, we'd pair chocolate brown and subtle touches of green to round out our color scheme.

I have a rather large front porch and the luxury of having no road traffic here at the house. Since moving into this home, I’ve been dying to throw a party on my porch. So it was decided that my porch would be the supreme location for this brunch.

And here’s what I’ve learned about morning parties:

1. It is much, much easier to have a party at night—it gives you more time to prepare. The night before the party I was up well into the morning tying ribbon on the favors which also served as the place cards for the seating arrangement… hot-gluing ribbon on the vases for the centerpieces… making place cards for the favors… mopping the bathroom floor and then mopping it again because I’d become a paranoid clean freak only to fall asleep on the couch and over sleeping the morning of the party and realizing that I’ve not finished spray painting the sticks blue and brown for the kitchen centerpiece and I’ve still got to mop the kitchen floor!

2. Never have a brunch the morning after a South Johnston High School Graduation. I love my rental guy. I think of him as the brother my parents really always wanted. Unfortunately my whole family—my whole extended family—loves him too. My uncle and aunt work at SJHS and help plan graduation and they decided to rent all—ALL 2,000 of his white folding chairs, which meant that we had to pick up our measly 25 chairs the morning of. Which means that at 10:25am—just a mere 5 minutes before our brunch, we were still chair-less and that brings me back to #1.

3. When inviting out of town guests, remember that they may arrive early and bring uninvited guests. The in-laws were from out of town—about an hour or so out of town—and they must have been worried that my home was going to be hard to time—because at 10:00am they were rolling up the drive and I was still in my towel. Again, that brings me to item number one.   Also they brought people that we had no idea were coming-- but it all worked out.

4. And always, always—as soon as you get them—MATCH THE DAMNED TABLECLOTHS TO THE TABLES SO YOU KNOW YOU’LL HAVE ENOUGH!!!! At 9:15am we realized that we didn’t have enough table cloths. My beloved rental guy’s people shorted us two table cloths. Luckily our chair pick up person, Cherish, was still in the area and turned around and got the linens we needed—but this put us behind even further. So yes, when the in-laws arrived, we had bare tables and no chairs.

But that is okay. The party turned out to be a raving success. We're good on our feet. Candice opened her gifts up first in the comfort of the air-conditioning and soon we were set and ready for a lovely little brunch to commence.

I had my friend, Olivia come in and take pictures. These pictures, below, are from my camera that my mother-in-law was so kind to snap for me.
So all's well, that end's well...

Enjoy!

The front door wreath... I had the bow made especially for the party.

The view from the road (it's not centered, but don't hold that against my mom-in-law, she's not a photographer-- I'll hopefully be able to post pictures from Olivia soon)

I ordered these cute little fans to serve as functional favors.  We tied ribbons on them which held the name tags (you can't see them from this angle)-- we used fruit (apples and limes) for the centerpieces and since we had a lot left over (and because there was a breeze) we used green apples as another decorative element.  I also like to pre-wrap the fork and knife in a pretty napkin and tie it with a coordinating ribbon-- it is less to carry from the buffett to the table.

Another view of the porch.

The buffett table:  We served a variety of breakfast foods and fruits.  Not pictured was our very tasty drink selections.  These ladies went through three makings of my famous champagne punch!

To the far left-- Candice opening up some presents.

The Last Little Bit...

I should be sleeping... considering that is nearly 3:30am and I've been up since 6:30 this morning.  But I did take a short nap somewhere in the hour of 7 o'clock this afternoon.  But still, all week I've been exhausted because much of my job has consisted on sitting around watching students take their end-of-year exams.  A very boring job it is indeed.  And being so mind-numbingly boring all I've been able to do lately is sleep-- except now.

I think it has something to do with the fact that after supper I came home to start watching a movie called "Towelhead."  It's not what you think.  It was filmed in 2007 and is based off a book by the same name.  Basically it is a coming of age story set in the early 1990's in a suburb in Texas, about a girl of middle eastern decent that is sent to live with her strict father.  It is one of those movies that deals with pretty heavy content and after you finish watching it you want to get a shower because you feel so utterly dirty for watching it.  The worst part is-- during the last 15 minutes-- just as a resolution seemed to be building, and I was gladly hoping for a happy resolution, a storm came up and knocked out the TV.

So I invested almost two hours of my life watching this horrible movie and I didn't get to see the last little bit-- the bit I was counting on to make me feel a little bit better about spending my night watching this movie.

Now, everytime I close my eyes I think back to all the terrible things I saw in that movie.  Frankly it scares me to think that this sort of story could actually occur and that other 13 year old girls have experienced the same sort of thing.  Obviously this girl was experiencing the normal changes associated with puberty but then to be taken advantage of countless times by most of the adult figures in her life-- it was just more than I could bare.

So I'm on line looking at happy things-- like marriage photography pages of local photographers-- and handmade items on Etsy.com

Exciting News on the Homefront...

So after waiting, patiently-- I might add, our house lot is finally double-wide free!  I really felt awful about making the man that lived on our lot leave... but like the Hubster said, "he knew from the time that he bought that double-wide that he'd have to move it off eventually."  And 18 years later, he did.

But I can't help but feel a little horrible about it, especially when I was at the Dollar General (DG) last week trying to buy some painkillers for me and some candy for the kids I'd be testing the following day. While I was looking for my headache medicine, I over heard the man we made move grumbling to the cashier about how much trouble it had been.  He was quick to say that he didn't really have a choice-- it wasn't his land.

But the good news is that the lot is cleared.  I'd post a picture, but seeing how I just remembered to take my picture-taking device home from the office-- I've just not had time to document the occassion.

Maybe soon.

Tan Fat vs. Pale Fat (we already know the answer)...

I'm on a fittness kick these days.  Every year, about this time, I get on a fittness kick.  Maybe it is the Victoria Secret's Swimsuit catalogs that keep appearing in my mailbox... or that my metabolism has slowed since I was in high school... it could be that I stopped tanning in the tanning bed a few years ago-- and we all know, tan fat is better than pale fat anyday... and since I'm a big white mess, I guess I can't stand to look at it and love it anymore.

Oh, for the days of care-free fun and high self-esteem!  I recall days, back when I was in my early (cocky) college years, when the then-boyfriend-now-Hubster and I would go down to the beach in July for a couple of days.  I'd wear my string black two piece and I would be tanned all over from going to the tanning bed.  I'd start going to the tanning bed in early January... you know to make sure I was good and dark... didn't everybody?  And you couldn't tell me shit.  I wasn't in perfect shape, but I remember coming home from those beach vacations and telling the then-boyfriend-now-Hubster how bad everyone looked and how good I felt about how decent I looked and how lucky he was to have me.  The nerve... the gall.  How dare me!

And then I got a pre-cancerous mole on my very special private parts and that ended my love affair with the tanning bed.

I miss those days... living it up in the tanning bed... eating junk all day long and never gaining an inch... laughing, secretly, at my roommates when they wanted to run!  Run!  Exercise?  Sweat-- no way!  And now... I can't seem to get enough work into my workouts.

Most days I walk two miles outside.  That is my base.  I've even cut out Nacho cheese flavored chips for Wheat Thins and sometimes hummus, if I'm feeling extra dangerous.

My goal is to look like my college self-except not as tan.  I'd really like to look better than my college-self... I think I'm more motivated than I've ever been.  I'm even thinking about taking up running.  And I hate to run.

By the way-- this is completely unrelated, but I can hear the TV from our office/guest bedroom...  Who are these "Pretty Wild" chicks on the E! network and how did they get a show?  What makes them so damned special and when am I going to get my own reality show?  I'm just as interesting and rarely cry as much as these girls seem to.

I'm not saying, I'm just saying is all...

But seriously, I think to make myself stick with my fittness kick, I need to set a goal.  So while I'm working on my goal and maybe building back my self-esteem... I'd like to leave you will a little life lesson.

In February my school focused on Fairness... and rightfully so, because school is the only place where fair matters.  The world doesn't care if you don't get an extra cupcake or if you don't get a piece of candy.  The world doesn't care that some people have money and you don't.  The world doesn't care that your neighbor gets a new car and you are still driving the same Honda Civic that you've always drove.

The world doesn't care.  If the world cared and, for that matter, was fair... I'd have my cousin Annah's genes.  I'd have the flat stomach and naturally tanned skin.  If the world was fair I'd look better than I did 5 years ago or 10 years ago.  So as the Hubster becomes better looking, I have to spend a little extra time in front of the mirror just before bed, applying lotions and potions to keep my youthful 'glow'.

So life's not fair... and to make matters worse, we all know that tan fat is better than pale fat, anyday.

Being Sick Sucks...

Yes... I said sucks.  My mother hates it when my sister or I--for that matter, anyone--utters the word sucks.  I'm sure she'd have reservations about me saying it on Sunday as well.  But the truth is-- being sick sucks.

On Thursday night, while sitting in PTA I noticed the mystery rash reappearing and this time under my eye and down my cheek bone and on my chest.  I had been to the dermo on Monday for my next-to-the-last Accutane appointment and during my visit I mentioned that I thought it, the rash, might be coming back around my mouth area and the PA rolled out this medical term and said, if that was what it was, then I needed to come back in... for now she gave me a steriod cream to try.

So Friday morning I wake up with a giant red rash down my cheek bone and a chest full of tiny red bumps that itched ever-so slightly.  I also had a sore throat and a stopped up nose.  So I decided to call in sick.  I knew it would take a while to get an appointment with the dermo and a goods days rest would be good for the cold I was culturing in my body.

I got an appointment for 2:00pm.  I took a nap... watched TV... ate lunch in the privacy of my living room.  I got a shower and went to the appointment that took all of 5 minutes for her to prescribe an antibodic that I would take for the course of a month.

So, I leave the office-- and decide to run by work to take care of a little bit of paperwork.  I spend maybe an hour at work and then head out to the drug store.

The pharmacist, a distance relative that can be slighly inappropriate (he loves to yell out that the medicine your doctor gave you "may cause a yeast infection!"), informs me that he can't fill my prescription because I take Accutane.  And I'm like, what the hell?

He says, "If you take this prescription while you are on Accutane, it will cause your brain to swell."

And of course I don't want my brain to swell.  But doesn't it look like the doctor who prescribed my Accutane and prescribed me the antibodic would know that?  Maybe she wants my brain to swell!

I plan to have a conversation on Monday.  I would have had a conversation on Friday but the dermo's office closes at 4:30 and by the time I figured this all out, it was 4:45pm.  Thank goodness my family doctor called in another, much safer drug to help with my rash.

FYI: I still have the rash; I still have the cold... still waiting for Monday at 8:30 to let the dermo know that I'm less than impressed.