Do You Have Anything To Declare?

Do you know what I hate?

When I go to see a movie in the theater (which rarely happens) and I am watching the movie and a funny part comes on and I'm the only person who laughs.

Well, I don't really hate it, but it makes me wonder about other people.

Last night Dirty and I did something nutty! We went and saw Sex and the City 2 at midnight.

I never do things like that.

Heck, I'm usually in a deep sleep by that time of night.

It was a blast though!

I'm so glad that we did it - even if I'm barely able to keep my eyes open today...

Either way, there is a part in the movie where a lady asks Carrie if she has anything to declare. And her response, "Yes. I'm a mess!"

Dirty and I were the only people in the mostly full theater who laughed.

Seriously? How was that not funny to anyone else?

Celebrate!

As many of you know, I LOVE birthdays!

Not just mine - I love all birthdays!

To me, your birthday is the day to celebrate the person you are!

Reflect on where you've been.

Dream about where you're going.

Revel in the fact that you spent the last year learning and loving!

Today is my birthday so I am going to do all of those things.

And I am going to share with you some things that I have learned and loved in my 29 years.

                                    I LOVE America!   

One step into my living room will give you a good idea of where I stand when it comes to the Stars and Stripes. The Fourth of July is my favorite holiday! I get emotional when I see the jets fly out of Luke. I thank soldiers when I see them in their uniform. America is my home and I love that!

               I love blogs!

I read a number of blogs on a daily basis (or at least check to see if they have something new posted). I really enjoy reading the way other people write. I love learning about their lives. I guess it stems from my desire to know people. I try to be a good blogger with a post every day, but I know that I let myself down a lot. I hope you all can forgive me.

(In a great combination of America and blogging, The Pioneer Woman has a photography blog today that makes me travel through the range of emotions - go there now! You will not regret it!)

Contrary to popular belief - I love people!

As I mentioned above, I have a strong desire to know people. Learning about people helps me learn about myself. When I ask people questions, I try to formulate what my own answer to that question would be. Don't get me wrong - I don't love huge crowds of people. And I certainly don't love lots of physical contact with people (there are exceptions - namely my nephews). But one-on-one or in a small group, I love people.

I love my nephews!

But that is surely not new to any of you.

                                       I love exercise.

It is getting a little out of hand. I am still (I don't know if I announced it on here) boxing. Boxing is hard. But it is also fun! And I ordered P90X - I am going to start it next week. I'm super excited for that, because everyone I know who has done it has LOVED it! I'm thinking about blogging about it each day to keep myself accountable and let you all have a part in my transformation (I hope) - we'll see how that goes.

     I love myself! 

This seems silly, but I think that there was a time that this really wasn't the case. I was asked recently if there was one thing I could change about myself, what it would be. I came up with the superficial "lose weight" answer. But I think that working towards my goal is making me stronger - physically, mentally, and emotionally. It has been a journey and I have learned a lot about myself in the process. I also thought about answering with, "I would be able to say 'no' more often." And while the ability to do that would give me a lot more free time, it would make me a different person. I am proud of the woman I have become. I am a hard worker. I take pride in my work and my appearance. I am a good friend. I think Jennifer Nettles said it best when she said, "Slow to trust, but I'm quick to love. I push too hard, and I give too much. I ain't saying I'm perfect, but I promise I'm worth it!"

I have learned that Match.mom was right when she said to "Pray about it."

That when putting yourself out there, "the risk is great, but the rewards infinite."

That you really can't ask someone to love you if you don't love yourself.

That judging a book by its cover can make you miss a really great story.

That the world is really a different place through the eyes of a child.

That honesty is the best policy. Always!

That the right thing to do, is most often not the easy thing.

That old friends helped you become the person you are and new friends are helping you become the person you will be.

That things do happen for a reason, but it may take a lot of years for that reason to reveal itself. Embrace it.

Thank you all for being a part of my life. Each one of you brings something special to my world that makes it better than it was before.

I cherish all of you!

Let Go. Let God.

If you know Match.mom at all, you know that the song that Luke Bryan is singing in the player above could have been written by her. I can not tell you the number of times that I would be worried about something and talking to her about it and she would say, "Pray about it."

Let me tell you, there are certain times in your life when you do not want to hear that.

But here I am, almost 29 years old, and I find myself saying the same thing. Often.

I delivered that very same statement to O'Dub just the other day. He, of course, looked at me like I was crazy.

Whatever.

Last night I was feeling really anxious about a couple of things.

Well, let me back up. I talked to Banana on the way to work yesterday and she shared a story with me that got me thinking about God and my conversations with him. Then she called me last night and we were talking about prayer.

So as I lay down to go to sleep, I was feeling anxious about some things, and I knew that there were a few people who had recently asked for prayer for their friends or family; so I muted the TV and talked to God for a bit. Nothing in depth, nothing long and drawn out. Just a quick conversation to say, "Hey, Lord, I need you. And so do some of my friends."

And you know what? I slept better than I have in a long time.

And I woke up feeling much more at peace.

And it reminded me of Granny B. The other day I was talking to her about how silly boys were and she said, "Oh, Airplane. Let go. Let God."

I said, "You're right."

She said, "Repeat it back to me."

That made me laugh a little, but I said it.

And the truth is, it helps me get through the days.

whyboysaredumb.com

***NOTE: I had a great post planned for this and I have forgotten a lot of the situations that I was going to post about - I'll think of them, write them down, and be back. For now, know that they are coming and I am open to submitted scenarios. Thanks!***

A while back O'Dub (formerly O'Connor - I'm in the mood to change names around these days) told me that he was going to start a website called www.whygirlsaredumb.com - to date, he has not done this.

While I am sure that we could start a blog on whyboysaredumb.com, we all know that the last thing I need is another blog - I can't keep up with the ones that I have. So, I will provide with a post of some activities of late that could have served as posts on the nonexistent blog.

I hope that this helps out some of my male readers with the ladies.

one. If you are "dating" someone and you talk to them on a semi-regular basis, and you have surgery, no matter how minor, go ahead and mention it to them. I swear, men, we like to take care of you - let us!

two. Girls are sensitive. If you do something to hurt a girl's feelings - apologize. If you really want to make a statement, buy her a small gift or flowers. But do not underestimate the power of a sincere apology. We are sensitive creatures - I know this. We just want you to acknowledge that sometimes you are insensitive and you are sorry about it. It really isn't that difficult.

An Introduction

I have some serious material for a whyboysaredumb.com blog post, but I have been meaning to post this one for a long time - so you are going to have to wait on my diatribe on the Y chromosome another day (maybe two).

Meet Chunga!

Chunga is the dog of Bunner and Banana. He was a stray and he adopted them and they love him!

                                                                                     And I love him!

                                         He is hilarious!

When they first got him, he was a little hyperactive and annoying, but things have changed.

I'm not sure he was really smart to begin with, but then he went ahead and killed a whole bunch of his brain cells in a fly bait incident (that almost took his life too...) and now he's super chill.

Biggie and Tiny love to play with him when they are all at Match and Papa's house. And he really is hilarious.

This is my favorite example of the "smart" things that he does.

Banana sent this picture a couple of weekends ago. They had been in town for the weekend and they brought the monkey with them. 

On their way home to Dub-Town, doing 75 miles per hour down the highway, Chunga climbed up onto the toolbox to enjoy the view.

So cute, but so dumb. Bless his little heart.

Yes, I Do Have ESPN...

As you read in this post I have lots of weddings coming up.

And if you read this post, you know that Big Surprise was getting serious with her beau.

Well, as if on cue, Friday night I got a text from Big Surprise with this picture:

It looks like I'll be attending her Big Fat Greek Wedding soon!

I'm sure there will be more stories than I can record at that one...

The Wisdom of Years

As you may know, for Christmas this year, Match.mom and PapaBear decided that we would take a family vacation to Disneyland.

Due to scheduling difficulties, we didn't get to go until March.

Which actually turned out great because it meant that BiggieSmalls was exactly the right height to go on all of the awesome rides.

(Note: I said awesome rides, which does not include Indiana Jones. He was too small to go on that one.)

So, one morning before we were to head over to the park everyone was gathered in Match and Papa's hotel suite. Biggie was running around like a mad man and he kept holding himself like he had to go to the bathroom.

So I asked him, "Biggie, do you need to go potty?"

Biggie: No, I fine.

Airplane: Are you sure?

Five minutes later, he runs by, still holding himself.

Airplane: Biggie, do you need to go potty?

Biggie: No. I FINE!

Airplane: You know, if you pee your pants we don't get to go to Disneyland.

Biggie: Ok.

Another five minutes passes and the same thing happens.

Airplane: BIGGIE! Let's go to the bathroom and try.

Biggie: I don't have to pee.

Airplane: Then why are you running around holding your wiener?

Biggie: Because I'm old!

And folks, there was nothing I could say to refute that.

Match.mom

Happy Mother's Day, Match!!

(And all of the other mothers who read this fine piece of literature I call a blog.)

I would be lost without Match!

She is the greatest mom out there! (totally unbiased opinion)

                                             She is always there with a shoulder to cry on.

                      A joke to make me laugh.

And brutal honesty when I need it. (Even though I don't always want it.)

Match.mom, I hope that someday when I have children I can be the kind of mother you have been to me!

I love you!

Even though I may not say it often.

And even though there were some years in there when I probably had an attitude that you didn't deserve.

I appreciate everything that you have done for me!

You're the (wo)man!!

Background

It't my birthday month!!

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

(Just in case you needed an explanation...)

Where Have I Been?

The truth is, I have no idea.

Let me pull out my color-coded calendar.

:)

Well, before my last post, Dirty and I traveled to beautiful Florence, Arizona for a wedding. Bunner and Banana were there, along with some other friends of this blog. We forgot to bring the address for the venue with us, so I got it from Banana on our way there. When we got into the car (running a little late) and plugged the address into the GPS to lead us there it took us to the front gate of the prison.

I'm not sure whether this was a sign or not.

But we turned around and got out of there as quickly as possible.

The wedding was fun. We were stuck at the outside tables for dinner, which was probably best because we were a little loud. The bartenders knew us as "the dos equis girls" and we made sure the dj knew how to properly keep people on the dance floor.

To say we enjoyed ourselves is an understatement.

The next night we went to dinner with Big Surprise (formerly EID). It was fun. Nothing too exciting to report, although I wouldn't be surprised if I was announcing her engagement here soon.

Sissy also turned 30 last weekend, but I'll save that story for another post.