Girl Gripes

There are things that, as a girl, I am expected to understand. Simply by my DNA I am genetically predispositioned to like certain "girl things" as part of our "sisterhood sorority." And I realize I am putting myself in a somewhat precarious situation by admitting that many of these "things" I just don't "get!" As badly as I want to be a member of that prestigious group, I am bewildered by some of the secret, unspoken girly codes of conduct. For example, I do NOT understand the "thing" with Target. I've tried and TRIED to understand "it" but to no avail! I go to Target occasionally and the only thing that separates, in my mind, Target from say, Wal-Mart, is that Target has hot fresh popcorn for sale as you walk in the door. No popcorn offered at our Wal-Mart. However, hot fresh popcorn is no reason, in my rational mind, to drive clear to Greenville or Anderson to find the closest Target! I hear people say "but Target has such good prices ..." Um, to me Wal-Mart has the same type of clothes for LESS. And REAL bargain hunters know that the best deals are found at other stores, such as Ross and T.J. Maxx anyway!

Moving on, something else I don't understand: a certain, unnamed beach located in South Carolina. OK, life is good at the beach WHATEVER beach you happen to be visiting. However, there is a reputation a certain beach has earned as "the beach." I have never been to this particular beach and therefore really cannot offer an educated opinion; however, I have heard much about this "beach to beat all beaches" and I cannot, for the life of me, understand the fascination with it. Let me explain: this beach is out there, kind of by itself, with very little in the way of restaurants, entertainment or shopping. Now, when vacationing, there are a few things that I like to rid myself of, firstly COOKING. Why would I exile myself to some beach with NO RESTAURANTS so that I have to cook every meal DURING MY VACATION?! Pure ridiculous to me! Secondly, shopping in my hometown of Greenwood, SC is a complete exercise in futility, so anytime I am out of the county limits I look for places to shop! Shopping is a sport that requires constant practice; thus, to stay aptly fit, shopping often is a must! Any beach worth its salt will offer, at least in small amounts, the opportunity to dine out, shop a little, and SOMEWHERE to take the kids to do/see SOMETHING the day(s) that it rains while on vacation!

Lastly, Rainbow sandals are not comfortable. Everybody and their grandma own a pair and wear them until the first hard frost but read my lips: THEY ARE NOT ALL THAT!

Sick Day

It's no fun being home alone. Sick. And alone. And lonely. Most moms relish being home alone under normal circumstances, but that all changes when you don't feel well. Then you need company and comforting. You feel like the rest of the world is moving about its business--except for you. Kids are in school. Husband is at work. You are home--sick. Can't even be productive since the thought of vacuuming makes the head ache worse. And you even get tired of being on the computer (did I just type that?!) I can't help but wonder what "my kids" at gymnastics are doing and if they'll remember my name since it'll be 2 weeks without seeing some of them. (I'm also concerned I'll remember THEIR names :) I remember feeling this exact same way as a child who was occasionally sick and had to miss a day of school. I couldn't STAND IT! I hated to miss out on anything that could've possibly been happening at school that day--of the social sort, of course! I could've cared less about missing instructional time, lessons, etc. But the thought of missing one moment of my friends' dramatic adventures sent me into a panic! I guess I've just never been a good sick person. I don't like to lay (lie?) around all day and "rest." An occasional nap is one thing but to be FORCED to "rest" is another! Just like when birthing babies--as soon as that baby was born, I was ready to check out of Self Memorial Ritz Carlton Hospital and GO HOME! I don't like being forced to sit still, even if my body demands it. I'm even more upset at this recent little illness because it put a big damper on my spring break! I had big plans--I tell you! I had daydreamed for months about where we'd go---maybe to the * Grand Canyon, or perhaps the Bahamas--but no, I was forced, against my will, to stay in Greenwood ALL WEEK LONG. (*sarcasm inserted here!) Thus I do feel I am owed another spring break week--once I am all healthy. I don't think the powers that be at the "Y" would mind, do you? If it has to be while the kids are still in school, so be it! Who am I to be choosy?!

Cinderella Goes to the Ball

I had the honor and privilege of dancing with my firstborn last night at Cotillion. It was amazing! Of course I flashed back to dancing with his Dad (only very occasionally!) and of dancing with Rylan as a baby/todder. Where does the time go? I close my eyes and once I open them Rylan is 11 1/2 years old, dressed to the nines, and dancing the waltz and foxtrot with pretty girls dressed in frilly dresses! I was VERY excited to get to dance with Rylan and see how much he's learned the past few months during his Cotillion classes. He's actually an amazingly confident dancer! I found myself constantly checking my feet to make sure they were doing the right moves while Rylan kept his gaze constantly on his partner's face (as per his instructions!) And I found myself, especially during the waltz, asking HIM if I was doing the right thing!!?? My, things have changed--when I'm asking HIM for reassurance!! The whole evening only lasted about an hour for me (Rylan had to go a little earlier), but I felt like it lasted only a minute and then it was over, and I wasn't ready for it to end! I saw many other Moms and Dads experiencing the same surreal feelings as I was. And it was so sweet to see so many Dads dancing tenderly with their daughters--I know they were thinking, "I'll be doing this at her wedding someday!!" And I plan to dance with my son again, hopefully MANY times, before his wedding! I feel so blessed to have experienced last night, and I can't wait to see wait lies in store next ...

The picture really doesn't do this pile o' clothes justice. Billy and I decided to thin out our closet a bit and ended up purging 6 huge trash bags of clothes. While this may seem mundane to most people, I assure you it's a major accomplishment in this house. Billy apparently hadn't "culled" his belongings since moving out of his parents' house to GO TO COLLEGE!! I did add a bit to the pile myself, and I actually go thru my stuff seasonally. It's such a good feeling to get rid of stuff. I used to be a More is More gal but not anymore....Less is definitely more!

Landon enjoyed the horses and the pretty girl leading the horses. He was actually "steering" the horse all by himself although the horse was closely following its owner. Landon considers himself an actual horseman/cowboy and wants to move to the country, today, to ride horses and 4-wheelers to his heart's delight.

Cluck

We spent a recent Saturday afternoon at "Mr. Jack's" son's farm. It was an adventure-filled afternoon, full of hen chasing, pig petting, and horse riding. I learned a lot about different breeds of dogs, mutantly large goats, and the countryside in general. Rylan enjoyed chasing the hens (and sometimes the pretty girls, too. lol)

Happy Thanksgiving/Merry Christmas/Happy New Year!

I guess I'll have to bundle the three holidays together in order to catch up to date! I didn't realize how terribly slack I'd been in my blogging! (New Year's Resolution #101: Blog more!)

Anyway, Thanksgiving was great as usual. We spent the day at my aunt's house and ate, well, everything in site (all in preparation for the BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING FRENZY of course!) Actually Mom and I did our usual "We're in no rush/looking for no particular good deals/we got up at 8:00 a.m." mode of shopping which served us pretty well. As is our tradition, we avoided Greenville at all costs and headed to Anderson, which was pretty busy. We found a few treasures but nothing really earth-shattering (another reason I'm glad I didn't get up at 2 a.m. with the real hard-core Black Friday fanatics!)

Christmas was wonderful as well and I plan to expand my "Christmas coverage" complete with pictures in the near future!

New Year's Eve the four of us went to Red Lobster (Rylan's new favorite place!) for dinner and went home, watched TV, tried to stay up til midnight (which I did, off and on!) and Rylan and I were actually the only ones still awake to officially welcome the new year (slackards!) New Year's Day found us at Barb and Billy's again to feast on the traditional Southern good luck fare and back home to watch MORE FOOTBALL. When does all the football end?!

Anyway, it's been a great few weeks and I'm sad to see it all end. However, it's time to get back to reality, and we look forward to our next break from school (which is, incredibly, in a few weeks!) As soon as Christmas/New Year's is over, I'm ready for spring! To me there is no reason, any longer, for the potential for snow once Christmas is over! I'm tired of the cold, gray skies and I want some sun and warmth! Anybody got any frequent flyer miles for a winter get-away to Hawaii or somewhere?!