Our New (almost) Nightly Ritual

Sister and I happened upon Season 1 of her favorite series, Everwood, while at Target a while back. This was a WB show from around the beginning of the 2000s. I don't really remember when it started, but we always enjoyed it. Since purchasing, we've gotten into a routine of watching 1 episode a night. We recently acquired Season 2 so we're well on our way to being through with it. Sadly, there's no release date for Season 3 yet. The big group shot has my favorite character, Bright, in it. He's the curly headed blonde guy. He was always really funny. The other shot is just a candid shot that I thought was really cool. I love candid shots because you can always think of what could've possbily been happening at the moment the shot was taken. This particular one reminds me of a day that we went to the Natural Bridge Park to take Senior Portraits of my sister's class. I was along for Yearbook staff but mainly because there was one certain guy there that I was a big fan of. Anyway, the photographer was getting ready to take a pic of him for Mr. LHS or something to that effect and about the time they snapped the shot he said something that cracked up both he and the girl that was in the pic with him. It's still the best shot I have of him. So natural and so cute! Wow... don't know how I got off on that story. Look up Everwood. Great show. :0)

We're Getting Ready For a Wedding....

Ding Dong the Bells are Gonna Chime....

Love that song. Been at Leigh-Ann's half the night working on hair and make-up. I think we have landed on both a hairdoo for me and a hairdoo for Sister. Also ready to do makeup... just have to go find some different lipstick. This pic, is Chloe showing off her lipstick of choice. I should've waited for a pic until she got all of her makeup on. She was pretty funny. Fun times. :0)

Girls Night - With the Boys!!!

It's Monday Night - Girl's Night!! Tonight was a BLAST. Our good buddy Jason returned from Ross Bridge to hit up the Rice Box with us. And the ever fabulous Nancy Byrd brought Spencer along. He kept us entertained. Food~Fabulous. Friends~Even Better. Fun times. :0)

Like Sands Through the Hour Glass...

So are the Days of Our Lives! I got an email today about the Memorial held for Salem's most beloved resident, Alice Horton. I know, it's tv. But Frances Reid has been on days for well over 40 years. She's the icon of the show. And since I began watching "Days" when I was in 1st grade (crazy, right?) I feel that I am somewhat invested. Let me explain the whole 7 year old watching a soap opera thing so you don't think I'm completely crazy. We had some friends who stayed with us a lot that summer and they were big fans of the show, so we watched it every day and I got hooked. This is also why I'm terrified of being buried alive because the early '90s is when Carly got buried alive on the show... If you've ever watched it, you know what I'm talking about. Anyway, back to the blog. I got an email today about the Memorial Service held for "Gran" as she was known on the show, so since I had nothing else good to write about, I thought that would suffice. While looking for a pic of her, I also found a few more of my favorite characters on the show. I never know in which order the pics will post on here, so I'll try and explain the person to match with the picture. We have Peter Reckell and Kristian Alfanso or Bo and Hope, THE supercouple of Days. I love me some Bo Brady. The cute little brunette guy is Jason Cook who played their son, Shawn. He was a big heartthrob as well. The blonde guy is Kyle Lowder who played Brady Black. He was a cutie as well. Ah, memories. :0) R.I.P. Gran. We'll definitely miss you.

My Day With Grandma & George

Grandma and I have been planning a day out for a week. We decided we needed to go visit Aunt Wilma. I rescued Cynthia from another day of working on the farm, so she went with us and when George heard about it, he decided to go as well. It was fun and LOUD. Neither Grandma nor Cynthia can hear, so they were yelling to each other in the back seat and George always talks about 30 decibels higher than another other normal human being on earth so he was equally as loud in the front seat with me. Holy cow. My head was ringing. However, we had a great time. We saw Aunt Wilma, then met Dad-o and Sister at the Mexican Restaurant for lunch. Afterward, we went to visit Aunt Flora (pictured beside Granny). It was such a fun day. :0)

Nunsense!

Just got back from the Ritz and what a wonderful night it was! We're sponsors of the Tennessee Valley Art Association at work and since I work with the ladies on getting their room reservations made, one of them invited me out tonight to watch the production of Nunsense. It was HYSTERICAL. It's a musical comedy about a group of nuns that have to put on a variety show to raise money to bury 4 of thier sister nuns. Apparently thier cook, Sister Julia Child of God, made stew, gave everyone botulism and all the nuns died. They had enough money to bury all of them but 4, so to raise money to get the other 4 out of the freezer, they had to put on a variety show. It was really good. I actually talked Sister into going with me since Lover would've rather gone to Huntsville than out with me on a Friday night! (I still love you though.) Oddly enought, we ended up sitting behind a guy from the Original Florence Park Authority and beside 2 of our bellmen. It was a fun night! :0)

F&B Par-tay!!

We had another signature BLOWOUT today at the Marriott Shoals. Our Food and Beverage parties are just about famous. We always have good food, loud music, tons of prizes and LOTS of fun. Today, was no exception. I took lots of pics... this was my favorite. Here, we have Josh Quick on the left, Chef of the 360 Grille and one of my good buddies, and on the right my Chef. Greatest most wonderful Icelandic man in the world. After the party, Chef, Justin (Chef of Bronzeback Cafe) and I went to the Mall for the Sweet Taste of the Shoals. We had to serve desserts in the mall. It was a crazy night and we finally made it back to the Hotel officially 12 hours after we had begun work this morning. My feet are screaming. The funniest part was when I had to take the van to get something overnighted and couldn't figure out how to turn off the emergency flashers. I ended up driving halfway through town with the Marriott lights flashing until I finally got Chef on the phone to tell me how to turn them off. Hysterical! In a completely unrelated story, after I left work and bought some new flip flops, I went to Wal Mart and saw none other than Coach Pendley. MY basketball coach from back in the day. He's great. Good end to a LONG day. :0)

Brylie Kate!

Congrats to two of my very best friends and neighbors! Alex Johnson and his wife Whitney had a baby yesterday at ten minutes until 3pm. Brylie Kate Johnson was 8lbs and 6 oz. She is absolutley beautiful and Al is such a proud daddy. They are the sweetest couple and they have the sweetest families I have ever met. Albert, as I call him, (or Al as he is known by everyone else) and I have lived beside each other for our entire lives and we went to school together all 13 years at old LHS. He's awesome. Definitely a friend you can always count on. Not one bad thing can be said about Al. IN fact, I told him if we were still single when we turned 30, we were going to get married. He's awesome. Then he met Whit. And Whitney has just fit right in. She is the perfect match for our Albert. We all love her. I know she is so happy to finally have the baby here. It's been terribly hot to be in her condition. I can't wait to meet little Brylie in person. It seems like Whit's been pregnant forever! Congrats, Albert and Whit! LOVE YOU!!!

Chef and the Monks

Chef had one more gift in the goody bag today from his trip to Rome/Pompeii. Actually he had two... one of which I can show. This is a coin from the very first abbey ever built in the world. St. Benedict built the first monestary on some beautiful mountain somewhere historical. I don't remember all of the details, I just know that's where Chef spent his birthday. He went to mass... Latin mass... had communion and reflected on all his years thus far. Did I mention he's Icelandic, fluent in English and can speak German and French but the man doesn't know a lick of Latin? Anyway, he brought us back coins, blessed by the monks (or the Pope), I don't remember that part either.

The other gift that I probably shouldn't show is a refrigerator magnet that is a replica of a mosaic found painted in a brothal in Pompeii. It is absolutley hysterical and something I will share with my Grandma ~ because we are weird like that, but for the time being, I'll just keep that one to myself and off the internet. :0)

Chipper Jones!!

Here is the cutest 3rd Baseman in the Major Leagues! The Braves are off today, so this is the only way to get our Chipper fix. This fabulous fellow has been at 3rd base and 3rd in the lineup for as long as I can remember. I'm pretty sure that he's the reason I was always #10 in school.

Crazy, maybe, but Chipper Jones has been the one constant in my life since I was a little kid. He started in the Braves organization when they won the World Series and that's where he'll finish... hopefully with another Wrold Series. There's been lots of talk of him retiring lately. So sad. He is a sure fire Hall of Famer. And arguably the best switch hitter of all time, so as his mom said, he has definitely earned the right to walk away whenever he wants to. I just can't imagine the Atlanta Brave without Chipper. He's their Golden Boy. All this baseball talk cracks up Chef. It amazes him that I can hold down my end of the conversation when it comes to baseball. Nothing else. Just baseball. I know nothing about politics or daily events, but Chipper and the Braves... that I can handle. Now I've just got to figure out when I'll get back to Turner Field. :0)

Dad-o

Today is Father's Day - which also means it is DECORATION DAY on the Hill. For those of you unfamiliar with said holiday.. Decoration is when you go to the graveyard, decorate, then eat. Old schoolers eat on the "grounds" (at the graveyard). Those of us living in the 21st Century with air conditioner, choose to take it to Grandma's.

DELISH is all I can say. This is the second biggest holiday next to Christmas Eve at Radine's. You will be black-balled from the fam if you don't show up. It was a fun fun fun day with GREAT food. After waltzing through the graveyard, we headed back to Dad's where I gave him his present... a coin seperator. Not exciting, I know. But he has a guitar shaped popcorn container that is about 2 1/2 - 3 feet tall that he has filled with coins. This is his spending money for Hawaii and he really wanted a coin seperator. You can tell he and Sister were having to put a lot of thought into it to work the coin machine. It was at least an hour of entertainment for us all, and in the end, he was happy. HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, POPS!!

Funniest. Voicemail. Ever

So I get a call at work today. Listened to the voicemail and it was my dear cousin, Todd. Timothy Todd Tittle and I grew up together so I always get excited when I get a call... I also always know what he wants when he calls. The following voicemail will explain it all:

"Hey, it's your favorite cousin Todd. One of these days I'm gonna call you just to be calling you... but today is not one of those days." Then he continued to tell me about a room he was needing in Savannah, GA. I called him back and the conversation continued.

Todd: "HEY!"

Me: "So you aren't calling just to tell me you love me?"

Todd: "Nope..." (Choosing his words wisely) "But I'll do that if you'll help me out."

For the rest of the day, I laughed hysterically. And told everybody at work. IF I remember correctly, last time I hooked him up with a room up here, I got a little cousin 9 months later. I'm confident that is NOT the case this time and he'd kill me if he knew I said that, but their kids are gorgeous. I've also tried to convince him to become a Duggar and have 18 or 19. I just love that guy.

Happy Independence Day, Iceland!

Today is Independence Day for Iceland. I know, get excited. I wish I would've snapped a pic of Chef posing with the new flag we have in the office when he was telling me about Iceland Day, but I didn't. Instead, I am going to go with the present he brought be back from the island of Capri from his trip to Rome and Pompeii. He had told me he picked me out something really cool, so I couldn't wait to see what it was and he was right. He got me kitchen stuff. This is only funny because the poor guy has tried and tried to teach me to cook. I have an I heart Iceland apron, so when I put it on, much like Superman and his cape, I get my cooking powers. I told him I'd hang my spoon and fork up beside it. He laughed and said I was supposed to USE them. I, in turn, laughed and said that much like my grandmother, we only use cooking utensils for decoration. Now Gran actually can cook, as you all know, but everytime we buy her something new, she just hangs it on the wall. Anyway, SO glad my Chef is back. Tomorrow, he will teach me the pledge in Icelandic because the National Anthem is a bit of a drag. :0)

Chef's Cake ~ Bowser's Cookies

Chef's Home. YAY!!! All the way back to the US from Rome and Pompeii. However, more about that tomorrow. I will tell you part of our celebration today included his birthday cake. I made a red velvet from scratch and iced it to looked like the Icelandic flag. Unfortunately, this pic turned out sideways, so just turn your head and you can see what the flag is supposed to look like. ON to other news... Bowz made me cookies today! This pic doesn't do them justice. The were HUGE and filled with chocolate chips. Delightful. He didn't even lose a bet. He just made them for the heck of it. Brought me in an entire cake pan full of cookies. We ate them up too. They were fantastic. Fun Day. :0)

Girl's Night!

Yes, we switched it up this week. Girl's Night on a Tuesday at Hacie was a BLAST. Other than the VERY VERY VERY, (did I mention VERY) slow service... we had a ton of fun. Lots to talk about. Hil-arious stories. Fun times. We had a big group tonight. From left to right we have Pheebs, Leah, Katie, Keely and Nancy Byrd. And yes, Katie Boggus, behind the camera is Meeeeeee. :0)

Homemade Jelly!

Cynthia called last week and told me I just HAD to come down and see them this past weekend. She said she wanted to make a homemade memory. I had no clue what she was talking about. I thought we were going to color Christmas cards or something. She further explained that Uncle Vic's apples were ready to make jelly. So, I went in and we whipped up a batch of jelly. I pretty much did it all myself... she just told me what to do. And guess what! It actually turned out decent. I told Steve Carpenter (my bee pal) that I can barely boil water, yet I can homemake some jelly. He took home a jar and just told me that it was great. Chef will be so proud when he finally returns from Rome. Just call me Betty Crocker! :0)

VBS

Tonight was the closing celebration for our VBS at church. This fella on the left is Bro. Tim. He is over the tv/radio ministry and is "the voice" of Grace Life. He does all the voiceovers so that's one voice we can all recognize. I've said it before but he is SO COOL. He always dresses up and plays some role in VBS. And he's a GREAT storyteller. Saying the pledges to the American Flag, Christian Flag and the Bible tonight made me think back to all those years I spent in VBS. There are a lot of things I'd change about growing up and I'm definitely not the biggest fan of Lynn Baptist Church; however, I wouldn't change for a second the 13 summers I spent going to Vacation Bible School and I am so thankful that Lynn Baptist Church provided that. Sally Pendley was always there on crafts, Mrs. Ann Baughn (who was about 103 when I met her) was always there teaching us the books of the Bible in order, and Mrs. Tidwell would be the Nauvoo bus driver for me and all the kids that lived around us. It was fun times. The songs, the verses we learned, and the fun we had were memories that I still cherish. OH and Bro. Matt told me Becky and I would have the 2nd Graders when Small Groups start next year. Looks like I'll have to learn how to entertain 7 year old instead of 5 year olds. Somehow I don't think they will think Ms. Kim is a genius for putting 2 strings on the floor and seeing who can jump the farthest. But I'm sure we'll be fine. Should be fun. :0)

Going Out of Business!

Visited the Movie Gallery this afternoon. They are going out of business and had EVERYTHING on sale. I went in on a mission to get 1776, the musical about the signing of the Declaration of INdependence. I LOVE that movie. It is hysterical. Coach Finley and Mr. Cleghorn used to let us watch it on a regular basis. I guess it was odd that a bunch of teenagers liked a musical, but it was that funny and that good. However, I asked the lady working there and she looked it up and assured me there was such movie, they just didn't have it. Of course there's such movie... that's why I asked. Anyway, I came home with this one. Total chick flick. Total love story. Love and I were planning on going to watch it, but never did, so that shall be my entertainment for tonight. I also saw Molly Finley at Movie Gallery who is a former basketball teammate of mine and really good friend. She introduced me to her boyfriend John as "My dad's all time favorite former student". It was hysterical. Fun times. :0)

Kit Kat Thursday!

I love Kit Kats ~ I also love when Studly comes to town! (He's our Area Director of Marketing that only comes to visit every other week.) It gives me an excuse to have "a break today". The Kit Kat dates began when I was telling Stud about how Chef and I enjoy our favorite American Chocolate Bars of Choice. We always break them apart and say "Cheers" before we devour them. Normally, I've eaten the entire thing before Chef gets done with one wafer. Stud thought this was the cheesiest date ever, but now he comes to visit us most every week ready for his Kit Kat too. Today was most exciting. He came back after lunch with 2 since Chef is still in Rome. Sadly, he had a meeting and had to jet before we had a chance to eat them, but the plan is to have them tomorrow. If he leaves before our date.... well, I guess I'll just take one for the team and have them both. Chef doesn't come back until Wednesday. I know they won't last that long. Love you, Stud!! :0)

Happy Birthday, J Low!

Happy Happy Birthday to my pal, Justin Low! He is the HR Generalist and one of the funniest guys at the Larriott, as shown by this pic. I don't think I have a single picture where he isn't making a stupid face! We went to Ricatoni's and celebrated for lunch today. They banged on the pans and then sang Happy Birthday in Italian. It was great. Happy B'day, J Low!!! We love you, man!

Speed Kills

Yes, I know this sign is not funny; however, if you ever played basketball for Coach Pendley, you'd think it was funny. We were never quite the fastest team on the court. His favorite slogan was "Speed Kills - And We're Not Hurting Anybody" so when I saw this sign driving back across the Tennessee River, I just had to have a pic of it. Good memories! :0)

Girl's Nite!!

It's Monday and you know what that means... Girls Night!! Big Surprise - Rice Box!!! It was fabulous. Yes, I made a total pig of myself. It was delightful. Quite possibly the scariest customer service ever, but the company was great. Here we have Leah and Katie.

ON another note, I have also decided that I LOVE old people. Today, Dr. Cox called me "Champ". Haven't heard that since the black and white tv shows from the '50s. Then we saw a GOSH AWFUL outfit on an old woman... Imagine red and yellow poinsetta print pants with a white t-shirt with a big circle of the pattern on the front, banana clipped. Bless her heart. It was dreadful, but she was so happy. Then, as Sister and I took our 2 mile walk, we saw 2 old men on tri-cycles. TOO CUTE! :0)

Redecorating!!

Tomorrow begins yet another week and a half of alone time. Chef is flying off for a fabulous vaca in Rome and Pompeii. He is missing yet another of his birthdays at the Shoals. SO, in the spirit of him being gone, we have decided once more to do a little redecorating. Last year when he went to Malaysia, Miranda and I decided to take over the office and pimp it out with 2 HUGE collages of Veggie Art and 24 different pics of food and beverage associates. This year, we will surround him with his homeland. I received in the mail this weekend, one Icelandic flag and one BEAUTIFUL Icelandic picture book. The plan: Cut out and frame all of the gorgeous pics of Iceland and put them somewhere in our office. Not quite sure where yet... I just promised him I wouldn't be teetering on top of our desks, banging nails in the wall with the heel of my shoe. The engineers are going to love me this week... :0)

Josh and Debbie's Wedding!

Congrats to Josh and Debbie! Today, my friend Debbie (and outreach leader of our Small Group) got married to her favorite fella. It was a gorgeous wedding with a great soundtrack. Really. It was a mix of lots of my favorite songs. Anna Lane and Robin sounded great. Debbie's dress was absolutely beautiful. Bro Matt did the ceremony. It was the perfect day for a wedding. Fun times. :0)

Chicken Salad and Spencer

Two Pics today...
Bowz is proudly holding his chicken salad. Lost a bet. Made chicken salad. He gave it 9 stars out of 10. I thought that was pretty good considering he is a LOVER of chicken salad. Chef said all it needed was a little more mayo and salt, but it was DELISH. I was rather proud of that statement.
The other pic is where my dear boss (Bowz) silly stringed Nancy Byrd's son, Spencer. Enough said... :0)

Here we go a cookin'...

And I lost a bet to my boss. Yeah, I should know not to bet Bowz because I will lose; however, I thought this one was pretty surefire... but it wasn't, I lost and now I have to COOK. Yeah, scary. I was content to go buy some chicken salad, but he said he wanted me to actually have to work and COOK the stuff... and touch dead chicken in the process. The other pic of the day is dear Lover decked out in a Chef's coat. He came to visit me today and put on the chef's coat on my desk. How cute is he?! I told him he looked like a doctor in his white coat. Nancy Byrd is pictured beside him. She was chasing people down collecting pool towels. Now it's back to the chicken salad... :0)

A Little Sad ~ A Lot of Fun!

Tonight was a tough one. We had yet another going away party for truly one of my best Marriott friends. Jason was the first friend I made at the Hotel and next to Bowz, he's taught me just about everything that I know about the hospitality biz. I never had to worry about a guest issue or anything because this loveable goofball that could've been my brother was always there to take care of it. I refuse to get emotional becuase then I'll have to admit how much I will miss him, but tonight it was all about the fun. We had a great night with some of the best of the "Larriott" crew. In the pic with Jason is our own Nancy Byrd. The other pic is one of my newest favorites. Here, we have my Bowser, me and the fabulous Steve Miller, GM of the GORGEOUS Ross Bridge in Hoover. That's where Jason will be headed. We had such a fun time tonight with Bowz entertaining us with all his best stories. My boss is the best story teller in the world. Seriously. He could tell a story about just about anything and make you cry from laughing.

There is a lot more that I could say... just saying goodbye was a story all of its own, but I'll keep that one to myself for now. I'll miss ya, Buddy! Love You!!!