Engulfed

Wow, the last week has been a blur! I can't figure out what I've been doing to make it fly by...I guess when you deal with time at work the way I do it really gets lost on ya! I want to say it's been a great week...I was lost in it all really and can't seem to separate one day from another. I've been reading and everyone know what happens when I start reading....I finished Twilight and am on to New Moon...holy moly! If you want a TRUE love story then this book is awesome! Ten times better than any smutty Danielle Steele novel!!! I guess because it really invokes the emotional aspects of relationships. Penn makes fun of me because it's about high school-ers but I explained that 64% of the readers of the series are adults...for obvious reasons...sweltering, romantic characters wrapped all in a world of their own.

In between chapters we finished our gardens...looks like the forest floor to be honest. Our canopy of oaks and hickories doesn't provide much sun (oh yeah, the veggie garden failed...) but provides GREAT SHADE :) We planted 6 flats of purple fountain grass on one side with azaleas in and out (in addition to the huge oak leaf hydrangeas in the back!) Very tranquil...

Up front we put in a 6ft spruce topiary (Gorgeous!!!!) with a few roses in front. It's really looking great. We found these HUGE rocks we dug up and placed them in the garden in the back and I can't even explain how breathtaking they are. I find it phenomenal that we found these in our back yard let alone barely lifted them out of the ground. We found a HUGE flat one but can't manually get it out...it would make a GREAT table top...eventually :) One has fossils in it and the other is like a stool...flat top and two legs! We didn't discover that until we started washing off all the mud but it is truly miraculous...to think water flowed constantly over it to create that...in our own backyard WHO KNOWS how long ago!!!!!! REALLY make you think :)

Also, I've been running :) My friend whom I work with (shall remain nameless but if you work with me then there is NO doubt who I mean!) and I have been running on our lunch, I really want to do the St. Jude half marathon...Sarah, you better be training!!! Neal also has been stretching with me, he's asked to go running and he really wants to do yoga with me...soooo cute!!!

(Hehehehe, I just wanted to post another picture of Edward Cullen...YOU'RE WELCOME!!!!!!)

Robots in Disguise

Sooo... we got tix to the sneak peek of TRANSFORMERS last night (the 7:30...not the 12midnight!). Me and Neal made a special night of it. It was really good, but there was some pretty yuck language which I had NO idea. Neal was so cut, as soon as Bumblebee came out he got all excited and he cheered for Optimus Prime! It got RIGHT into the action and lasted all 2:30 hours. It was actually value night at the theater so we got a small popcorn and small drink for $1 each! We got out pretty late, about 10, so Neal was tired, wanted to listen to the "relaxing music" (JAZZ) on the way home...so sweet :) That's about it, not much going on this week. Penn's been pretty sick w/allergies so I'm hoping he can get some rest!!! Work is going really well, things are quickly improving and that is extremely promising. Started reading the Twilight books (Thanks Sarah!) I try to get a chapter in a night, sometimes it get a few chapters sometimes non...but I love the books (sophomoric, maybe but hey...reading is reading!) Actually I've read some pretty good books lately...Lamb :The story of Biff, Christ's Childhood Friend...Hilarious! Really a great story, kinds makes you think...

Miss Cordelia's

Saturday I woke the boys about 9. Well, Sam was already awake so I woke Neal. His Aunt June invited him to attend their VBS that day and I knew he would have a blast. We dropped him off and headed back to Papas house. I tried to prune back his azalea by the house, but it was HUGE and once I got out the deadwood there was a big hole in the front so I threw in the towel. We had lunch (you guessed it, leftover Gus's!) and rested for a bit. We decided to get out so Sam and I went across the bridge to Harbor Town. We walked down to the river and sat under a tree while Sam threw rocks "in the river" (well, about 3 ft to the rocks further down). He loved it, his exact words were "this is amazing!". We were HOT so we went across the way to the square, to Miss Cordelia's Grocery and got some ice cream and sat on the porch swing and just...sat. It was great, I realized then that I missed that part of Memphis. A variable mix: Seaside cottages of all different colors placed on a New Orleans zero lot-line street with a Charleston air....quite lovely....

Free Music

Pulled into town and stopped by Rhodes to hang with Sarah...I HAD to get a cup of coffee or I thought I would fall asleep!!! The boys loved playing at the office (if they only knew!) and being in midtown. Neal still remembers that Sissy works by the Zoo, he said it was a beautiful day and a trip to the zoo would be a great idea...but this was a cheap trip so no dice...sorry. Then went to grandmas to visit with her. She filled me in on her trip to Texas. It made me think of going there as a kid. I can still remember all the places and faces she talked about. Actually, as we were looking at pictures I kept asking about something else and it would ALWAYS be the next picture...funny. We had a great visit but had to go to Papas and let Ophelia out. We did that and waited for Pops to get off work so we could go to the Levitt Shell for a free concert that night. They all go once a week but I had not seen it since it was redone. We picked up Gus's for dinner (HOLY MOLY! I miss Gus's!!!), hot chicken served with white bread in grease spotted brown bags...need I say more? The shell was awesome, it cooled off and we were in the shade. Of course Neal made a friend AS SOON as we got there (really, like before we even sat down!) and they were off. It was a great evening, Reba Russell, Jackie Johnson and a few other blues singers really put on a show! It was a late night with Sam falling asleep on my shoulder during the last song, Sitting on the Dock of the Bay. All in all....summer picturesque :)

All of it

This week was a busy one. With work load doubling and church going well, Penn tested a Sunday school class (YAY PENN! I know that took a lot of guts), then we planted about 12 flats of flowers!!! (Coleus, lantana, fountain grass, ferns, and more and more coleus...LOVE the colors!) My body feels GREAT! Lots of exercise with the kids at Summer JAM and then planting all weekend! I also did some "spring" cleaning on Saturday, got the house ready for a magazine shoot it looks so good! Neal and Sam even helped! I guess that was it, boy it sure FELT like a long week. In actuality, it was pretty uneventful, other than Summer JAM. We re-upped our Costco membership (exciting for us! yeah, that tells you a lot huh!) We have sat down and reconfigured a way to get the rest of our debt paid...debt free soon! I can only IMAGINE the sweet, sweet day :) I guess that is about it. Heading to Memphis this weekend to see my fam! Super psyched about that...hang with Grandma and Pops. Well, back to work I guess, start on my many proposals and schedules! Oh the glamour of advertising.....

Work...

Working today on a promotion for Honda involving the all-new 2010 Honda Insight...TennesSEE-IT. I have been working on the PowerPoint ALL DAY and feel like my eyes are going to melt right out of my head! If it weren't for Pandora I think my brain might have exploded already! The promo is pretty intense with blog elements, web, on site, on air and tourism (fun part!). The idea is to take our 2010 wrapped "TennesSEE-IT with Honda" Insight on various road trips in TN, urban adventures, outdoors as well as music/sports venues. (OK all you guys in advertising out there...I know who you are so if it goes to a competing cluster I know who to hunt down!!!) I am also gearing up for our 3rd day at Summer JAM (Jesus And Me!) Neal is loving it and the other kids are excited as well. I LOVE to have them run up to me and hug and squeeze me so excited to be back again!!! I'm wondering if I can make it physically...if I do make it through the week it is time for a consistent workout plan! Neal and I have done some yoga stretching each night afterwards and Neal has done great with it! He is turning into such a big guy :( Sam is turning into such a little guy...he does his happy dance ALL THE TIME and just talks non-stop. Each night and day he asks me "Please don't leave me...but I will miss you." Sweet as molasses that one (and just as sticky!). Wish me luck and say a prayer I make it all week....

Summer JAM with Preston Taylor Ministries...Night 1

HOLY MOLY!!!!! I am sore!!! I ran Sunday and didn't think about it. Anyway last night was a total BLAST! The kids were all so wonderful. Neal was excited to see Xander (from his Sylvan Park school)! I was one of the first crew leaders there (no, not me) so got to hand with the kids from K-2nd till everyone got there. Neal was with us and it was a group of girls and they couldn't believe I only had 2 boys and did boy stuff like play Transformers and X-men and stuff so they taught me a Hannah Montanna dance and I get to be Fancy Nancy for the week :) We started with songs and dance, I had a kid on my back or shoulders from 5:30-8:30 (Neal wanted a ride to the car...) but it was worth it! Carb load today! Our group went to story time first and they told Daniel in the lions den. We got hand signals with that to make the story interactive (a crown for "king" and roar for "lion"). Then everyone got a wrist band. We went to crafts and made little "prayer" catchers. The kids were great. One boy, Elyuz, said that the "ladies got to go first with the glue sticks" we was a super smart guy! Next was games, relay races and sack races. Then snack...that is where we had Neal's melt down...he was a trooper though, it was 7:30 and he hadn't eaten. He didn't get juice like the other kids because they ran out and some took his bag of Cheetos so REALLY upset him. But I pulled him through!! We got in a circle to end the night with more dancing (shoulder rides and piggy-back dancing!) and prayer. I am SO sore but I woke up completely invigorated, in a GREAT mood (except for NO coffee at work, what?!?) and energized for today! Neal is excited as well and can't wait to take Sam Friday night (family night) and show him the dances!
Til' Then....
Nicole :)

Fun with Sissy!!!

Had a blast over my bday weekend...don't celebrate it like I used to (well, we did finish a bottle of wine on Friday night!) but it's much more fun now! Sarah came in town and we had a ton of fun. Had Sarah's first spa experience, he went a little "deep" in her and she was sore all weekend...sorry Sarah...I should have taken the guy, hindsight huh! We picked up the kids, some groceries and a bottle of wine and went home to cook, hand outside (the weather was FAB!) and look up SNL shorts...'nuff said.
Saturday I had a meeting for VBS early so got home at noon after a spur shopping trip to Target to get a bday present for myself and Sarah, and Neal some swimming trunks b/c we were off to Beech Bend in Bowling Green KY! Neal was so excited to visit a new state, he decided he wants to move there and live forever :) Kids! The park was awesome, little busy but no lines to wait in and the boys LOVED it!!! I think putt-putt was the best, they gave Tiger a run for his $$$, especially since Neal almost made a hole in 1 the first shot (seriously, it took a spin round the rim and fell out)! That's my boy! Sam was phenomenal too, soooo cute. Not a bad drive at all, we got groceries and went home to cook. Turned on the jazz for girls, boys watched TV in the playroom and passed out while we played a 2nd grade level game of Scrabble (Really need to work on my vocab...I'm a little rusty! it was pretty pathetic.) Early to bed and early to rise for church, came home and right to the movies for UP...the boys loved it, Sam was a little restless but made it through...they had a GREAT weekend. For my bday present Sarah got my Element cleaned!!! THANKS A TON!!! Went running again finally! My legs feel like spaghetti today, really, they are sooo sore! We will see our fam in Memphis soon so hang on Grandma, we're coming!!! Lots of Love!
Nicole