Sunny Day in Our Back Yard

It is amazing to me how the little things sometimes are the best and most heart warming. Today I had an appointment with my dad to look at a possible venue for our wedding (Not dad and I, but Bobby and I's wedding!) and I wasn't about to fight the traffic back to work to then fight it home again. So, after we had the wedding chat and the planning chat and the colors and budget chat... I headed home from downtown. Traffic really wasn't too bad, but it was approaching 5 and I could see the dark clouds of angry drivers heading into the streets. (Long intro short) I made it home by about 5:15 and it was an amazingly beautiful day and Hines and Sadie thought so too.

I took the chance to spend a few hours in the backyard with our pups and really just enjoy some QT, quality time. I pulled out their favorite blanket, and yes they have a favorite blanket that they sleep on when they are in the family room. I put it in the middle of the yard and just relaxed. They thought it was fabulous. Hines brought me his toys, showing me how he carried each one and how he kept them all from Sadie. And Sadie made sure Hines knew she was Queen Bee and going to sit in my lap the entire time. I also grabbed the camera and got some great shots, see below.

Overall the even was great, its so different to be home at 5 and not at 7. And @ 5 I have missed the hour traffic that I say in to get home by 7. I could get used to that!! It was really the simple act of sitting in the back yard and enjoying some time to do nothing that made my night.

Van, Shower Bananza & Mother's Day!

This weekend was so full of events I'm not sure that we slept. But, it was a beautiful weekend and we really enjoyed everything we did. Friday night we were treated to the Van Morrison Concert at the new amphitheatre in Alpharetta. The Pizza's took us to the show, which was so sweet of them. The show was a bit disappointing, but it was Van Morrison, so there isn't much you can say. However, he wouldn't allow the venue to let cameras in, no beverages except for water was served after 8:00 (when the show started) and no law seats were sold. Basically he is high maintenance and was proving it Friday night in Georgia. He did sing Georgia on my mind, which was great, but thats about the only song I knew that he sang. We apparently missed Brown Eye's girl and Moondance in the 5 minutes we were late... but the company was great and we did see Van Morrison live!

Saturday was pure craziness, but we made it out alive! Saturday morning we got up and ran Race For the Cure with my Zeta friends and then rushed home to go see Hope's first gymnastics performance! She was adorable, up and down the mat, on the beam, etc. Really great! And at the end they all got medals, so she kept saying she was the winner. It's so great to be part of a family that is so supportive. And Bobby and I are luck enough to have both sides of our families to be this way! We might actually have too much support, haha! Then Saturday night we attempted to go to two showers and a firm function. We hit the Pizza's wedding shower @ 5:30, left for Jessica's couples shower at 7:30 and then were supposed to go back to the Pizza's for dessert and to a firm function in Norcross at 9:00. Ha! We only made it to the 2 showers, but that was great and we really had a good time. Jessica got some of the most adorable things and Jonathan and Alexis both were super excited about their wedding.

Sunday was Mother's Day and we pulled double duty as usual and did brunch with Bobby's family and lunch only 2 hours later with my family. We at some point hope to merge everyone together, but for now will keep things in high gear and try to make both sets of parents happy at all times. We decided this year to take our moms to see the Sound of Music @ the Fox, so in August Bobby and I will be taking his mom and my mom to lunch and to the show. They both loved the idea and I think it will be a good bonding moment since we hope to be engaged @ that point!! :)

Overall a great weekend! Here's to another Monday and the start of a great week!

Wasted Second Chance

Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo and we had planned to have people over to celebrate and then Bobby picked up a case in Savannah so plans were altered. We did have our own little celebration on the back deck with tacos and margaritas. We had emailed a few people to come by for dinner and I thought I had let them all know that plans had changed. However, I missed one... our favorite Assistant DA. He came by after celebrating with a few margaritas somewhere else and we caught up on a few things and his latest cases. He always has the best stories of the drama in the DA's office and some of the most random cases he picks up. One of which inspired this post. Currently there is a case in Marietta involving a Rapper - Lyfe Jennings, which I think you all will find to be amusing and entertaining at the same time.

Lyfe Jennings, born Chester Bamsu Jennings, went to jail in 1992 (at the age of 14) for arson. However, apparently its a little more serious than that as there was someone who died in the fire. Then while in jail (for 10 years) he claims to have turned his life around and rekindle his faith in God. In fact, his inmate #, "268-192" was attached to the end of his debut album. After the release of this album he became a star, performing with other R&B artist, playing nation wide and picking up a contract with a major label. Then a year or so ago he was visiting his Baby's mama in Smyrna. He left her house drunk and upset and fired several shots into the air while speeding away from her house. Being the nice neighborhood it was neighbors were concerned and called the cops to report the incident. Cops found him driving just down the street from the neighborhood and attempted to pull him over. Having been in jail previously and still on parole as he now has 3 felony convictions, he ran from the cops. His car reached well over 90 miles an hour and finally came to a stop after flipping just under a bridge. The accident was terrible and apparently he was lucky to be alive and even luckier to not have hit anyone else on the road. The charges of DUI, possession or illegal firearms, avoiding the police, etc. is what landed the case with the DA's office. Now he's pleading guilty (D'uh) but he wants a deal. YES, a deal! He actually hired the same attorney that got TI off with a great deal last year. Lyfe wants to plead guilty to several crimes and to be sentenced, but on his terms, HA! That is what is wrong with our system today, we actually give criminals the option or the thought that there is an option of when they are sentences and when they can serve their time. It's unreal at what people can do and get away with and also how the system works... or doesn't work.

After being given a second chance and coming out of prison with a career that blows up, he has wasted it. He has made millions and had the chance to make more and blows it because his "baby's mama" and he don't see eye to eye. Drives me nuts! I hope that our DA's office stands firm and that he is sentenced and put away before he plays and shows. If you want to hear some of his music you can check out his myspace page, its rather hard core. http://www.myspace.com/lyfejennings

Uncle Frank Sends Us To The Game

The Hawks have had a winning season and are in the play offs and where were we?? THERE! For everything Bobby has done for Swift Currie McGhee and Hiers, or the Swifty C as he sometimes calls it - we were given play off tickets. We actually just went to the game, which was my first ever Hawks game, but enjoyed these seats a lot more. Apparently "Uncle Frank" has had seats for the Hawks since they started in Philips Arena and they are in the club level. Of course B had to have a pretzel to make his night, but we did enjoy the personal service and I even had sushi during the game. Who knew! Nonetheless, the seats were great and now the Hawks are headed to the Semi-Finals!! Maybe Uncle Frank will hook us up again soon.

A Little Taylor Swift Love

I'm not a fan of all her teen pop songs and a lot of the ones I do like are over played. But, Taylor Swift has become one of the cooler young celebrates. Not because she has won just about every award possible or because she handled Mr. West with style and grace. But, because she is a real person who does what everyone else does and it seems like she really just enjoys making music. Yesterday Taylor helped her reputation even more by making the dreams of a few Auburn University students come true. (Not an Auburn fan, but this is a call story)

Apparently, in January, Michael Wekall and Ryan Leander started the website A Hug From Taylor Swift. Their goal? To receive a hug from Taylor Swift. D'uh! The two posted videos and made online pleas to the star, which were soon met with a challenge from Taylor herself: perform some good deeds, encourage others to do the same, and perhaps the dream of an in-person meeting would come true.

Michael and Ryan did as they were asked - and Swift made good on her promise. Yesterday, Wekall and Leander posted on their site asking students to meet them for a special karaoke session. Soon after the group completed a rendition of "You Belong With Me," Swift appeared on stage, donning a "Hug from Mike and Ryan" t-shirt.Fast forward to the four-minute mark below to get to the especially cool part:



I would have much rather her call the dawgs, but this is a cool story nonetheless. GO DAWGS!

Final Project Runway

Yesterday I had a stomach bug or something that made me not a happy camper for most of the day. I slept until almost 2 and still woke up tired. Feeling much better now, but my day yesterday seems like such a blur. However, around 10 when I was wide awake I realized it was the PROJECT RUNWAY FINALE! We just love this show and had to see how it ended. All season we have been pulling for Emilio and were hoping he'd pull threw as the winner of Season 7.

But, much like the volcanic ash that has been falling in Europe from the eruption in Iceland, the tears for Emilio flowed on and on and Heidi Klum had to give her famous “aufedersein” when the show was over. Our poor boy Emilio took second place, but it was a well deserved spot to be. Our second favorite, Seth Aaron, was the ultimate winner, which still managed to make us happy.

The runway show in general at Bryant Park was great, best one so far in my opinion, minus Michael Kors in Secret Service shades and a random appearance of Raven-Symone. My only thought was that she was working on something with Lifetime and needed a short cameo appearance. The guest judge for the finale was Faith Hill, which made me question the results. Who is she to judge fashion? And really what does she do, I haven't hear anything from her in years and I'm really not a big fan of what she has put out. But, she looked great last night and I'm sure did ok as a judge.

But back to the show and our winner. What he described as "Kick-ass” German-Russian military inspired clothes were really a mix of great patterns with a truly rock n' roll edge. I loved it. His red dress with leather cutouts was standout. The structured look of pieces including his pant suit felt more sophisticated than restrictive, especially when he paired pieces like the silk parachute blouse or the polka dot and tweed with striped legging. I also loved the yellow plaid coat and separately how he used that same plaid pattern with patent leather on the inseam for fitted pants. I didn’t go for the purple people-eater dress — too poofy in too many places and way too fitted on that poor models butt. Either way, he's the winner and he had my vote. What I'm sad about is that I missed the reunion show... it started into what looked like the models of the runway, or whatever the show is about the models that usually follows the show, so I turned it off to get into bed. Now I'm hearing the reunion show was better than the actual finale... bummer.

Birthday in the 80's

This past weekend we were slammed with things to do, but its always fun to keep busy. Friday night we started things out right with an 80's Birthday party for our friend Chrissie. It was her 30th birthday and a well deserved celebration. We took the party to Sparkles to skate the night away and look back into the 80's. You have to love side pony tails, leg warmers, stone washed jeans and all the glory that comes with the 80's. A great time!

It's a Hoot

This morning I spent 2 hours at the car dealership trying to get my hood fixed that was broken by the guy who fixed the windshield. Not sure why I have to waste my time to get something fixed someone else broke, but such is life. While in the not so clean waiting room at the dealership the TV was on and on The Early Show (CBS) they had a rather lengthy segment on owls. There is a new online "reality" type show with owls. Really its a guy who has a web cam in his bird house and a barn owl took residence, laid her eggs and is raising the young all live online. Its rather interesting and really cool to watch. In fact, its addicting and so fascinating. A few thoughts came to mind while I waited and waited and waited. First thought - would she really have her babies there if she knew the world was watching. Second - how cool is this? Third - is it true that owls mate for life. That's cool too. Any how, thought I would share my new found addiction!

Live Broadcasting by Ustream

Give it a second to load, but if you'd like to watch it live from the site where it is located you can do that too. The site is http://www.ustream.tv/theowlbox

Super Heros Weddings

This weekend was jam packed with activities, but so much fun! I could use a week to recover, but my afternoon nap yesterday did help! This weekend was Clint & Elli's wedding (3 years in the making). They really outdid themselves and just about any wedding we've been to. It all started Thursday with the Super Heroes party. I went as Rainbow Brite (a stretch for the Super Hero, but cute nonetheless) and Bobby went as Captain DB. I'll leave that one to interpretation. We had a great time and actually all went out in Athens as a group. Best thing ever to see a group of about 50 walking down Broad Street dressed up as Super Heroes. The bride and groom were Wonder Woman and Superman! FUN TIMES!

Then there was the UGA tailgate themed Rehearsal Dinner. Lots of fun on Herty Field with an appearance with Hairy Dawg and everything UGA themed. The weather couldn't have been better either. Overall an amazing weekend for an out door wedding.

Finally the wedding came Saturday and it could not have been a more beautiful day. The bride was just as beautiful in a dress her mom mad, it was amazing! I wish my mom sewed, but then again I want my mom to be stress free on the day of my wedding and she would have been flipping out. The ceremony took place at the Presidents Garden on North Campus. There were tears, laughs and a lot of singing and scripture. All in all a great ceremony, a fun happy hour following the wedding and a blast of a reception.

Please Welcome Anna Kate

Bobby's sister Aimee had her second daughter this weekend and we became an aunt and uncle again! Woohoo!! Or shall I say future Aunt Sam! But, Hope just calls me Ms.Sam. Either way we were super excited and spent most of Saturday at the hospital and were so excited to meet her and be with Bobby's family. He just loves Hope and will love Miss. Anna Kate as well. The picture below is her just after she was born Saturday night. They put some lotion on her face after she was cleaned up so she looks a little greasy but she's adorable. So sweet!! Another one to spoil!

Pampered

Last night our neighbor Jennifer had a Pampered Chef party. Originally I had decided not to go because of my budget, then we talked about it and I decided that it would be money well spent for the amount of time I spend in the kitchen and because I do enjoy cooking. So away I went to my first Pampered Chef party. I think my mom has mad one before and maybe even my grandmother, but I have never been in attendance. We do have a few items however because they have been passed down to us and Bobby purchased a few grilling items from someone at work. Needless to say my opinion going into it was that it was over priced and not really the basics. But... I was turned into a believer and purchased a few items. Plus, I even signed up to host a party!! (In May) We'll see how that goes. The item I am most excited about is the micro cooker. It is basically a microwave steamer. I'm pumped because we steam a lot of veggies and this will make it so much easier!! I love how they come up with new things that make home cooking great!

Grooming Visit For Not

The puppies were groomed Saturday and they looked great! It was a wonderful birthday gift to have clean pups... but that only lasted about 24 hours because then it rained like crazy Sunday. AWESOME!

They look like sad pups, but they aren't. They are very happy pups, but those darn Beagle eyes make them look sad.

You Only Turn 27 Once

This weekend was officially birthday weekend for me and I couldn't have asked for more. Bobby and my mom (more Bobby) planned a great bowling party with my best friends and family. It was really a great time. I enjoy bowling and we wanted something that was fun and would cross the ages as we had my grandparents, Bobby's niece and our friends. It really worked out. We even made awards, "Princess Bowler," "MVP," "King Pin," and "Real American Bowler." Hope was given the Princess Bowler, Teddy MVP, Brandy King Pin and Robyn Real American Bowler. I got killed in all 3 games we played, but it was fun and great to have everyone there to celebrate me getting older (blah!) Pictures below:

Office Re-Model

Over the last week or so we've been re-modeling our office. We have gone from stark white walls and navy carpet to cream walls and a patterned carpet. What a difference. You walk in our office now and it feels more "homey" and a lot more inviting. Additionally, the office is a lot more presentable for new and prospective clients. As long as we can keep the clutter to a minimum we'll be good. They even redid the kitchen. My office feels very "comfy" these days and it really does help with productivity in my opinion. Office view below, but it doesn't look like you can really see the color in these. Nonetheless, you can see where I spend the majority of my day...

St. Patrick's Day - AKA March 17th

St. Patrick's Day has several important meanings, one of which is one of my favorite people's birthdays. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Jackie! I hope you enjoy it and live it up! The other meaning has something to do with Ireland, Green Beer and pots of gold at the end of rainbows. All of which are OK with me. We had the honor of being invited to the Pizza household last night for their traditional St. Patrick's Day dinner. It was great and my first time to eat corn beef and cabbage. And what a dinner it was. Johnny spent the entire day cooking and preparing. We had the best corn beef, which I was a little scared of at first and great cabbage. I'm not sure that I have ever been somewhere on St.Pat's day that actually serves corn beef and cabbage. It was a great treat and something that has inspired me to make this dish next year and join in the celebration. I hope you all had a great St. Patrick's Day.

Picture Session

These are our cute babies. We couldn't ask for much more!

Passing The Time

Every morning and every evening I have the pleasure of sitting in traffic. I am sure if you read this blog you are aware of how much traffic and I do not get along. But, we have developed a love/hate relationship. If I can get some good tunes and maybe a call or two on my phone I'm good to go. But, yesterday the radio was not on my side and the rain made my commute home a good 2+ hours. AWESOME! I started to play games with myself while sitting in the parking lot knows as 285 West. I made up stories about the people in the cars to my left and right and the trucker behind me. Then I noticed the license plate on the little red convertible Lexus in front of me. I notice plates a lot lately because sometimes there isn't anything else to focus on. This plate said MRSBJ. At first I read it as Mr. SBJ, then I realized it could be MRS. BJ. WHY would anyone want Mrs. BJ on their license plate?? So I had to know who was driving the car and I really wanted to pull over and ask them what they were thinking. So, I merged to the left and tried to get around a few cars to pass the Lexus. Come to find out there was a very attractive woman driving this cute little car with the terrible plate on the back. She looked normal and well dressed, which from my car passing by is a good assessment in my opinion and about all I knew/know about her. I started to think about the scenarios to how that plate was designed. Did she decide she would be Mrs. BJ or did her husband/significant other. Was she really Mrs. Brain Jones or Brett Jordan... or OMG Mrs. Bobby Johnson! I would be Mrs. BJ!! I quickly decided I would go with Bobby's "real" name in all references to Mrs. anything. I would have to be Mrs. Robert Johnson in the effort to avoid being Mrs.BJ.

Other plates I noticed last night were a few that started with BVI, to me that means British Virgin Islands. Probably not planned or intended to make you think that, but those made me smile. Then there was a T ROD 8. I wanted to ask him in his little Geo, why 8 and what happened to 1-7. My favor was MSTHNG and H8THIS. I really will notice plates a lot more now and might even try to get mine customized the next time I renew!

I did a search for a few pictures online since in the rain last night my camera would not have made out any of the plates really well and those are to the above right. Enjoy and take notice of the "vanity" plates (as they call them) around you. It might give you a little glimpse into the type of person that is driving the car.

Love Like Crazy

This morning on my way into work in the rain, I turned my radio to XM 11, the country station. If I am just not in the mood for morning talk radio on our local stations I can always find some good tunes on XM. The song that was playing when I hit 285 (the worst road in my morning commute) was Lee Brice's song "Love Like Crazy." I have heard this song many times before but never really listened to the lyrics well enough. Today I cranked it up and realized that it was an amazing song about Love and really embodies everything I feel about the four letter word that makes and brakes people L O V E! The chorus is the best part and how I aspire to love:
be a best friend
tell the truth
over use i love you
go to work
do your best
dont out smart your common sense
never let your prayin knees get lazy
and love like crazy

I think Love is sometimes a mystery to people who have really never felt it. But, once you do and you know its real and reciprocated then life is good and you couldn't ask for me. This song is really a great work of country music and even though I wasn't feeling well this morning it really put me into a great mood. I found it on YouTube and have it below, its not his official video, but it makes the point and the song is great. Enjoy and remember LOVE LIKE CRAZY!!!!

Spring Table

This weekend I was inspired to make my own table arrangement. I'm not really sure what got me going, but I had an idea and wanted to just do it. So, I did! I took a bowl my sister gave us for Christmas and filled it with the floral foam, Oasis, and then added flowers. I picked up new Spring place mats and napkins as well. We were all set for the dinner we had Saturday night and I think it looked great!

Our Babies Love The Snow

It's amazing to me how they like to play in the snow but hate the rain. Hines has no problems rolling around in the freezing snow and getting covered in the fluff, but he won't go outside when its raining. Go figure!

Blog

In a conversation earlier this morning I started thinking about what a blog really is. What it means to me and how other people see them. For those who don't blog and are more private people they don't understand and its hard to explain. But, I thought I would try. A blog as defined by the all mighty Wikipedia : A blog (a contraction of the term "web log")[1] is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability of readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (Art blog), photographs (photoblog), videos (Video blogging), music (MP3 blog), and audio (podcasting). Microblogging is another type of blogging, featuring very short posts

I like this definition as it really defines a blog and I view it as a personal way of expression. Much like some people write, or play music, I blog to express myself. Wikipedia goes on to say: The personal blog, an ongoing diary or commentary by an individual, is the traditional, most common blog. Personal bloggers usually take pride in their blog posts, even if their blog is never read. Blogs often become more than a way to just communicate; they become a way to reflect on life, or works of art. Blogging can have a sentimental quality. Few personal blogs rise to fame and the mainstream, but some personal blogs quickly garner an extensive following. One type of personal blog, referred to as a microblog, is extremely detailed and seeks to capture a moment in time. Some sites, such as Twitter, allow bloggers to share thoughts and feelings instantaneously with friends and family, and are much faster than emailing or writing.

I personally strive to capture the moments in my life and share them with people who care of matter, even if "those people" only consists of me, myself and I. With that I blog on and hope everyone will understand a little more now, WHY I blog. Self expression in my opinion is one of the best things a person can do to contribute to their lives and the lives of others.

March Madness Family Style

So March is a busy month in the Phillips Family. We have 4 birthdays and there is always a lot going on. We start the month off with Jamie on March 3rd, then Randy on March 10th, I'm the 22nd and Chris is the 28th. We just love to celebrate birthdays so its a busy and fun month.

This weekend we celebrated Jamie's Birthday with family dinner at P F Chang out at the Mall of Georgia. It was really a great dinner and my sister hopefully had a great time. I had some really cute pictures of her blowing out the candles but she didn't like them, so I won't post them at her request. But, we got to see little Jolie and Bobby and I just love her! Bobby really is great with kids which makes me ecstatic.