MIA

First, let me just say that I realize that I have been MIA for basically he month of July.  I am so incredibly sorry for this, but I have had some computer problems and so now I am back online! Miss me?

A lot has happened, however, so the next few posts will likely be catching up, then, of course, be looking for the latest honorable mentions.

Update #1--Fireworks

Let's start with the 4th of July, since my last post was on July 3rd.  Almost all of my Mom's family was at the lake (my grandparents live there) for the 4th.  We had a practically perfect day filled with sun, food, laughter and fun.  Of course we had bought fireworks to shoot at the end of the day as well.  It was probably around 9:30-ish when we started doing fireworks.  One of my little cousins is not a big fan of loud noises, and like me as a child, is afraid of fireworks.  So my mom, dad, and I went up to the house and did a few alternative things.  The four of us were sitting at the kitchen table, my Dad was teaching him a card trick, when all of a sudden, all the power went out.  And at the lake when the power goes out...it REALLY goes out.  It was pitch black dark.  In the same split second that the power went out, my Aunt appeared at the back door, and in an alarmed voice said, "Kay, something's wrong with Daddy..." (meaning my granddad, Pop) Could the electricity have picked a better time to go out?  I don't think so... Needless to say, after that things got a little crazy.  For the most pa

rt, my family, immediate and extended, is very good in a crisis situation.  We all are of the philosophy that freaking out does not help a situation...it hurts it.  I basically played the role of runner, trying to fly through the house gathering flashlights and what not.  My Dad grabs a huge flashlight out of his truck for scavenging and my Mom jumps in the truck and drives it down to the lake to shine the headlights on Pop.  As told to me later, after things calmed a bit...Pop went to try and get out of the swing and couldn't move.  He couldn't move anything on his right side.  Luckily, my grandparents live next door to a nurse, who checked him out and said that he definitely needed to get to the hospital.  So, everyone except for me, my cousin, my aunt, and the 3 little kids, took off to the hospital.  The 6 of us stayed behind in the house with no electricity.  My cousin corralled the kids into one of the cars, while my aunt and I went through the house finding every candle and flashlight we could.  Finally, we got the kids inside, kept everyone in the living room with pillows and blan

kets on the floor, and waited.  It's hard to wait like that.  We received regular updates on Pop, however, so that helped a good bit.  The doctors said that he was okay, but that he definitely had suffered a stroke and he was going to have to stay in the hospital for a while. At around 2:30 a.m., the power came back on, and my Mom called to say they were coming back to the house, but that Meme was going to stay with him.  When my parents got back home around 3:15, we drove back home, made it back around 4:00 a.m., so that I could make it to a wedding the next morning (my friend Ali got married, Yeaa!!!!) So needless to say my family has been tracking the progress of Pop for about 3 weeks now.  He is doing much better, and after a stint in the hospital, was able to come home last week.  It will be a long process to get back to where he was, but he is making great progress and s extremely determined to do it.  Thanks for everyone's prayers and concerns! My family and I appreciate them so much, and I am 

proud to say that he is doing so much better!  So, my 4th was eventful to say the least, and at the end of the weekend, I got to sit in traffic like this...

Old Glory

In the name of Independence and all things American...

Happy 4th of July!!

P.S. I would just like to point out the majorly feathered bangs, coupled with the ultra sassy pose.

Honorable Mention - Ansley

Ansley, The Mover and Shaker

“Ambition is a dream with a V8 engine.”~Elvis Presley

26 Tidbits:

Elvis and Priscilla

David Yurman

Dressing up (even for class)

Trip planner extraordinaire

Gets things done, always

Future Ann Coulter (but a whole lot nicer)

Dransley

LOVES the 4th of July

CFA

ATL-and proud of it!

Hot shoes

Best trip partner in the world

Big sunglasses and hott black one piece

Make-up artist (should be paid for her ability to do eye make-up)

Dizzy pilates

Work-out queen

Loyal friend

Makes friends faster than anyone I've ever seen

Conquered two colleges in 4 years

Never misses a beat

Addicted to celeb gossip

"Movie Star" Phone

Trusting and trustworthy

Homemade guacamole maker

Has a huge heart

Always knows someone (even in the most obscure places)

ELABORATION:

I had to post Ansley's honorable mention as close to the 4th of July as possible. She loves the 4th of July more than anyone I've ever met. She actually used to dress up as Miss America on the 4th. Now that's dedication. But that's just who Ans is. When she is passionate about something, she's not passionate a little bit, she's passionate a whole lot. I chose the quote at the top for her for two reasons. One, Ans LOVES Elvis Presley, even more than she loves the 4th. I mean she's read several books about his life and even dressed up as Priscilla like three years in a row for Halloween. Two, the quote could not fit her any more perfectly. She has an incredible drive that is rare in people our age. She makes things happen. When she says that she is going to do something, you better believe she'll do it. She is such a hard worker. She's not one of those people who does anything halfway. It's hard to find someone who works as hard as Ansley does AND is able to let go and have as much fun as she can. I have more memories with Ansley where I had the time of my life than I can possibly count. I have only known Ans for 2 years, but I feel like I've known her forever. It's hard to explain how easily she opens up to people and how easy it is to open up to her. She makes every effort to make people comfortable and to genuinely get to know them as a person. I think everyone who knows Ans would agree with me on that.

CLASSIC STORY:

Like I said before, Ans and I have A LOT of memories, but the ones that stand out the most are from our spring break senior year of college. Our group of immediate friends were going in all different directions, so Ansley and I decided to hop on a cruise with several other people we knew. We had a cabin to ourselves and spent the whole week having an absolute blast. Our first port was in Cozumel. I cannot express the fun that we found here. I will not go into particular detail but you could ask the aforementioned Bo, or John Mark, or Trey, or any of the other tons of people on the beach that day. Our second port, however, was somewhere called Progreso, Mexico. It might sound familiar because people tend to go there for mission trips. We found out that a boat only stops there once a month, and the people make their money for the entire month from that one stop. Still, we thought we would give it the benefit of the doubt. We walked out of the ship that day, and not only was it raining, but we could barely see the town because a three mile dock stood in our way. We hopped onto a "bus" and teetered our way down the rickety 3-mile dock toward Progreso. The look on Ansley's face said it all, so this is why this cruise was cheaper. We got to the marketplace and after a Progreso native ogled us, and then made some weird, super creeper bird noise, we hopped back on the "bus" and headed back toward the ship. Somehow, that day was still SO much fun! We got back to the boat and spent the entire day relaxing and in conversation.

I could not have had more fun on that cruise and I attribute my experience to sweet and wonderful Ans! That's just how Ansley is. She makes fun in every situation, and lives life to it's absolute fullest. She's the kind of friend that I am very lucky to have.

Honorable Mention - Emily

Emily, The Mastermind

"Everything that I decide to do means something, otherwise I don't do them."~ Celine Dion

26 Tidbits:

Obviously Celine
Watched CSPAN as a child (therefore missed out on every Disney movie, yet somehow we are still great friends)
Very texture-oriented person
Dancer
Wonderful Aunt to little Dave
Can't stand a liar
Loves her friends deeply
Obsession with cars
Theologian
Only speaks when she has something to say
Broad vocabulary
Would be a hippie, but thinks things through too much
Tunic and hoodie lover
Advice guru
Fearless (except for things with peanut butter or shrimp)
Will buy new hair products based on the bottle
Dancing with the Stars
Hates to pack/unpack
Should have been born in Italy
Hates to wear black
NBA fanatic
Always drives the boat (figuratively and literally)
Future WEGP Advisor
Loves to argue, but only when it's a fun argument
Claims she looks nothing like her family (truth: she looks like her mom)
Never falters on her beliefs

ELABORATION:

Em is without a doubt a unique person. Other than my Mom, who Em is very much like, I've never met anyone else like her. She is a melting pot of personality, knowledge, and skill. She gives some of the best advice I've ever received. She is truly talented in that. The quote at the top could not be more perfect for her. To say Emily loves Celine Dion is a huge understatement. I was fortunate enough to experience Celine's show in Vegas with Em. She loved every minute!The show was simply amazing, I do have to say. But the quote also fits so perfectly because Em doesn't second guess her decisions. When she decides something, she follows through with it, simple as that. I think this partly is because before she makes a decision, she thinks about it from every angle, dissecting every piece of information she can. She is incredibly intelligent, as proven by her words, that most of us have never heard before, that she interjects into every day conversation. She loves her friends and family and she would do anything for them. She has an ambition to do great things in life, and she no doubt will for sure do it because she is so dynamic. She's a fun-loving person, too, which makes her even cooler. Em and I are great friends. I only hope I complement her as well as she complements me.

CLASSIC STORY:

Over the years I have accumulated many a memory with Em, but this one is one of my favorites. I mentioned that we went to Vegas together. It was MLK weekend during our Junior year of college. She and I were walking through the Bellagio casino, on our way to see "O", when we noticed someone who looked strangely familiar. He was passing us in a very casual manner. Being the Southern women that we are, we kindly smiled and said hi as he was passing by (because somehow we knew him, and it would be rude not to say hello.) The minute he passed us, it clicked with both of us who he was, Scott Caan from Ocean's 11, 12, and 13! We just casually spoke to a celebrity! And how ironic that we saw him in the Bellagio casino. We felt like we were in a movie. We decided to go and walk the strip that night, but it was unusually cold for Las Vegas, in the teens I believe, so the next night we decided to bundle up in our room robes and stay inside the hotel. We were wandering around on our floor when we ran into Mr. Caan again, only this time he was going into his room, only a few doors down from ours! We ran to the room and got Em's camera and decided to do some scouting. We never saw him re-emerge from the room, but we did catch up with some interesting fellows from Great Britain. I videoed and Em interviewed. The guys were making conversation and talking about our accents. They were getting a bit fresh, and something very strange happened. ONE TRIED TO UNDO HER ROBE! Are you kidding me, Em gave him a glare, I shut off the camera, and in unison, we tromped back to our room. Creep.

This story is just one example of our double trouble nature. Needless to say we had a great time in Vegas, but the truth of this story is that when you are with Em you can always plan on having an adventure of some sort. We have had some amazing times, and I attribute them all to Em's amazing unique self.

Honorable Mention - Bo

Bo, The Practical Optimist

"Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did."~Newt Gingrich

26 Tidbits:

Master fisherman

Country Music (and singing along in the car)

Garth Brooks

Wakeboarding

Steak and BBQ

Carl Edwards (and everything NASCAR)

To say he loves Coca-Cola is an understatement

Driving the boat at Wedowee

Auburn Football

Major golfer

Sporting Clays

The Wash House Restaurant

Epitome of a Southern Gentleman

Quick-witted

Loves to give surprises

Loves to be the host (and is a very talented chef!)

Allergies (sorry I had to put it in...it's part of what makes you, you)

Big Disney Fan

Karaoke star

Knows how to cut a rug

Everything in government

Road-trips (especially to away games)

Auburn Football

Family time

The Office

Smiles all the time (Always makes everyone feel comfortable)

ELABORATION:

I chose the quote at the top for Bo, not only because of his love for politics, but also because I feel like it describes him so well. He does every job to the maximum degree. He works as hard as anyone I have ever met in my life, and he wouldn't have it any other way. He is the kind of person that would sacrifice every bit of his own happiness so that someone else is happy. Don't get me wrong, he stands his ground, but he makes it a point to make sure others are content and comfortable. He is a decision maker, but has the amazing ability to quickly make decisions that somehow appease the whole group. Everyone loves to be around him. His personality is contagious, along with his smile and laugh. He can relate to anyone anywhere, and quickly makes newcomers feel welcome. When he asks how you are, he is the type that listens intently with sincerity. He treats every person he meets with the equal compassion and congeniality. He is a true Southern gentleman in every sense of the word. He's hysterically funny. His dry-witted sense of humor is accented with perfect comedic timing. I would say he's a pretty likable guy...

CLASSIC STORY:

I really got to know Bo the summer after our junior year of college. I always knew who he was, but I didn't really know him. On this afternoon, I was returning something to him at his house. He invited me to go and sit under the tree by his house and have a Coke, something Bo practically considers part of his family. We hadn't known each other very long, but we just got started talking. He made conversation go by so easily, and before I knew it we had been sitting for about two hours. After we finished our Coke and there was a break in conversation, he asked if I wanted to throw the frisbee. Sounded like a great idea to me! We threw the frisbee back and forth a good bit, and chatted in the afternoon. He also has a pretty good reputation for being pretty smooth, but on this day he lost his footing for just a second. I threw the frisbee, and somehow it slid right through his hands and hit him in the face. He quickly shook it off, laughed at himself, and we continued to throw the frisbee. He thinks that it was a slip on his part and that he lost "cool points," but I don't think he realized how impressed I was at his ability to laugh at himself and joke and have fun with it. I will never forget that! Some of you might be wondering why I didnt include the Magnolia Ball (Round 1) story here...I think that story deserves a blog post of it's own.

This story just goes to show what a genuine person Bo is. He makes every effort to be congenial and friendly, and to make people feel comfortable. Like I said before, people, obviously including me, just can't help but like him!

Honorable Mention - Mom & Dad

Mom & Dad, No Description Necessary

"A child's job is to test her boundaries, a parent's is to see that she survives the test."~Dr. Roger MacDonald

26 Tidbits:

10 on Mom:
Dancing with the Stars
ANYTHING with George Strait
Witty as can be (I have fallen victim to the quick wit before)
Power shopper
Master trip coordinator
Cruises while listening to Jazz Cafe
Oldest child (Always wants to make everyone happy)
Destin
The Grand Floridian
Has been known to make up words like ump-teen (meaning "a lot")

10 Tidbits on Dad:
Master Golfer
NEAT FREAK
Anything to do with building science
Dead shot (in sporting clays of course)
Loves to give people surprises
Chilling at the beach
Boat captain
Loves to teach people things
Sam Cooke (and all oldies for that matter)
Hardly ever gets stressed out, pretty much goes with the flow

6 Tidbits for Both:
The Wash House Restaurant
Master daughter nickname makers (hot rod, petunia, tina, bets, bug, lily, sis, etc...)
Having fun is their speciality
Biggest Auburn fans in the world
High School Sweethearts
SUPER loving/wonderful/caring/fun/cool parents

ELABORATION:

I chose the verse at the top because my parents always say I was a difficult child to raise. I thought it was fitting. Even if I am that way, they are really good at being parents. I should probably explain why I am doing theirs together. While they are very different and unique in their own personalities, my parents are still a unit. A very tight knit unit. They have been married for 33 years. My family is extremely close and we know probably just about every detail of each other that you can possibly know. Seriously the best way to describe us is that we are just tight!

They are both meticulous but in very different ways. My Mom is meticulous when it comes to details. Rocks beware, because none of you will be left unturned. She knows how to dig out every single detail of every single thing. It is an amazing quality, because she is always on the ball. It's impossible to argue with her because she's not one step ahead of you, she's 15 steps ahead of you. She has a natural ability to help keep everyone else on top of things, too. Which is so helpful to me because I'm not always that way. Mom is good at enjoying life, and her number one priority is to spend it with the people she loves the most. She's hilarious by the way. She has that really smart dry wit humor. And if you do something that lends itself to her witty phrases, be prepared to fall victim to her antics. No one minds, though, because she has you in stitches, laughing so hard.

My Dad, on the other hand, is meticulous in the physical aspects of life. He is the very definition of a neat freak. Everything has a place, whether in the house, in his office, in his car, and even in his appearance. "Cleanliness is next to Godliness"...yeah, that kinda neat. But you would think a person that tidy would be a bit uptight, which could not be farther from the truth about my Dad. He is "cool as a cucumber" you might say. He has a pretty low-stress personality and an adept ability to always see the big picture. He never really gets frazzled, even though he has an unwavering drive to work hard. He has a hard time sitting still, even on the weekends. He's always either out in the yard or doing work around the house. He handles work and life like a champ. My Dad is hilarious too! His humor is different from my Mom's, but still keeps everyone laughing all the time.

My parents balance each other so well. I can only hope that one day I have a marriage like theirs. Like I said they were high school sweethearts. He was the Key Club President and she was the Key Club sweetheart. He asked her to Homecoming on the first day of school their junior year of high school...she said yes...and here they are! Their names even rhyme...Trey & Kay. You can't get much cuter than that. They just fit.

CLASSIC STORY:

You can imagine over the years I have accumulated a number of favorite memories with my parents. They are very unique, special people, and we have fun no matter what we are doing. I used to love it when we would get lost, like say if we were visiting a city that we didn't know well, because my parents wouldn't get frustrated, they would just get funny. That humor I was mentioning. Yeah, it would come out then. SO many of my favorite memories also happened in Disney World. It is not only my favorite place to be, but it's also my parent's. And of course the numerous trips to the lake and the beach.

One infamous story sticks out in my mind that pretty accurately portrays my family. My grandparents used to live on Wolf Bay, down near Orange Beach. My parents and I made it a tradition to go out on the boat when we were down there, and many times we would go shrimping. (If you've never been shrimping, this is my plug for it. It is SO much fun). When you go shrimping, you pull a huge net behind your boat. Porpoises follow the boat, and when you pull in the net, they swim to the boat. You empty the net into a big tub and see what all you've caught. You catch all kind of things. It's so cool. On this trip, I was probably 7-yrs-old, a particular age where I had a reputation for being quite the drama queen. Well, this time we were shrimping in Wolf Bay, and our net got hung on something I assume on the bottom on the bay. I played it cool for a little bit until....a barge started coming. Now I didn't mention that a channel runs through the bay and barges pass through there regularly. The barge starts to blast it's horn even though it's decently far away. All the while, Mr. Fix It, or Trey the Toolman as I like to call him, is trying to save the net and get us free. I, clearly, start to panic. Give me a break, water was starting to seep into the boat, and I was in no mood to play chicken with a barge.

"We're sinking!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are all gonna drown!!!!!!!!!" I shriek. My Mom is multi tasking by trying to calm me down (she was giggling under her breath), trying to help my Dad, and trying to keep calm herself, because it was a little nerve-racking. She has this amazing panic mode though. She and my Dad. Neither of them ever really panic actually. The barge continues to tell us to move in it's bellowing voice, "PLEASE MOVE OUT OF THE WAY, PLEASE MOVE OUT OF THE WAY, PLEASE MOVE OUT OF..." You get the picture.

Finally, we cut our losses, quite literally. Dad cut a chunk of the net off the boat so that we could get away. It was scary for a little bit, but now it's just the perfect story that's been told time and again. It was worth it, simply for story value. All in all, my parents are great. They love me as much as parents can love a child and they put up with my craziness. Like for example this story, or when I locked my keys in Haley Center and they brought me an extra key, or when I left my cell phone in my parents car before they drove an hour and a half away from me. They are just great in every way! Thank you & Love you Mom & Dad!

Honorable Mention - Riley

Riley, The (Organized) Free Spirit

"Living in the moment means letting go of the past and not waiting for the future. It means living your life consciously, aware that each moment you breathe is a gift."~Oprah Winfrey

26 Tidbits:

Design

Creativity

WALL.E

Dressing up for work

Shoe obsessions

Favorite Aunt/Babysitter

Healthy eater

Laughter

Curls

Edgar's

Non-chain restaurants

Exercise

Suits (not one that she would wear...)

Trying new things all the time

Never liking to say goodbye

Bobbi Brown Lip Gloss (for reasons known to Riley and other's that were there that night)
Rap music

17th Floor

Feel good movies

Engagment ring designer

Yelling "That's not possible!" to Indiana Jones.

Mob Wars on Facebook

Photography

Celeb gossip (me too, no worries.)

Road-trips to see friends

Beautiful writer

ELABORATION:

The quote at the top reminded me so much of Riley. Just the other day, she and I were talking about living in the present, and she was mentioning how there is no point in worrying so much and getting flustered over things that you have no control over. "Just be happy!" she said. I don't think she realizes what an inspiration that is to people. Because she doesn't just speak those type of things and make them idle words, but instead she lives this philosophy every day. You will be hard pressed to find Riley when she is not smiling. She is a naturally happy person, and she just makes you want to be around her. I mentioned laughter in things that identify her. This girl LOVES to laugh. And she has the kind of humor that is genuine and contagious. Riley has the coveted quality of being able to laugh at herself, which makes you like her all the more. She is not one to argue with you, but she is not a push-over in any sense either. She has a way of giving her opinion that makes you appreciate the fact that she said it, instead of making you feel like she is running you over.

CLASSIC STORY:

One of my favorite qualities about Riley is how candid she is, which brings me to one of my favorite stories involving her. It was a random weekend our senior year in college and we were at a cookout. We were all sitting around talking. I'm pretty sure that the boys outnumbered the girls like 6-3 or something. Somehow Riley started talking about different things that she had going on in her life. She was so open and honest about how she felt about different things and different topics. The guys looked flabbergasted. It was clear that they rarely found a girl who would give them a straight up honest answer about anything they asked. The cookout soon became an information session. When Riley left, the guys could not stop talking about her. They were absolutely enamored with her. So I thank Riley for being a visionary in communicating with the male persuasion, and simply speaking her mind.

I think that this story is simply a testament to the kind of genuine, heart-felt, candidly wonderful person that Riley is! I am blessed to be one of her friends and to get to spend time with her daily!