It's been two years?!

I was just taking a walk down memory lane and painfully re-living the 50 day countdown that was on my blog in early 2007. Living with Esther had become quite excrutiating, and we were counting down the days of when she'd be leaving us and going to basic training for the Air Force. Now it's been almost exactly two years since then, and now I am starting another painful countdown. Esther is deploying to middle east for the first time. Needless to say, she's done a lot of growing up since then. She's really made the best out of the Air Force that she can, met a great guy, gotten married, and dare I say... become a real adult? All the sudden, she's one of the sweetest people I know, caring, giving, and still funny as all get out. She's making a great effort at being married, being a good wife, being a good airman. I'm really proud of how far she's come and who she's turned into. And I'm gonna miss the hell out of her while she's gone.

New Year's Eve... the end of 2008

Despite the worldwide panic behind the "economic turndown", the year ended pretty well for the house o' Beveridge. And despite a crazy Christmas trip to VA that resulted in less than 24 hours actually spent in that state, I was happy to be able to spend time with Esther and Derek and my favorite boys. I don't want to go into too much detail about the trip, but one highlight was launching our suitcase out of the back of the truck in Sumter, SC. We didn't miss the luggage until we got home. Luckily, our clothes were strewn all over the street in front of Esther's neighborhood, so she was able to retrieve most of them. Thanks, E!!!

So tonight is New Year's Eve. Gone are my party days. I am ringing in the New Year with a near-beer and putting some flair on my FB corkboard. Living large, I know! I also drove to the Kroger in my robe and pajamas and waited in the car while Charlie ran in and rented a movie. Then we came back home, and he made fried oreos for a treat. Later the boys will be setting off some bottle rockets which will inevitably end up in my neighbor's yard, who already hates us for similar behaviors. The point of all this? I guess that despite having what some would consider to be an incredibly lame New Year's Eve... I am happy as a clam. Having a relaxing evening at home (and at Kroger) in my jammies, hanging out with my homies, letting them do what they do best... I only hope that 2009 is just as great! Much love and prosperity to all my peeps out there.

a typical Wednesday night at the dinner table

Notice that there are no girls in this picture?!

Wrapping

Okay, so I didn't have a close relationship with my mom. I often feel like I got short-changed when it comes to things that she should've taught me, other than how to drink a beer more slowly. But one thing she did share with me was the fun of wrapping gifts. She had worked in a bookstore as a college student, often being assigned to wrap all the Christmas presents. And she took that job very seriously. Attention to detail, that was her thing. So I've combined that along with another tradition that I picked up from Mayson, and that is making wrapping paper out of brown packing paper for a very home-grown feel. And here's the result, going with me to a baby shower this afternoon...

rude awakening

It's quite a rude awakening when a kid blasts into your room at 6:00 a.m. to let you know that the smoke alarm is about to go off at any second.

The other night I was making a list of sofas that I was comparing, to go in the fish room. My list had such weird names as paradox cocoa, improv mocha and cindy crawford rochester. I stepped into the bathroom for a few minutes to get ready for bed, only to notice when I came out that my list had mysteriously grown. Now on the list are also palindrome skeezy and delightful phart panz?!? I had such a giggle attack that I couldn't go to sleep. Thank God I married someone with the same sense of humor that plagues me.

do you canoe?

What a nice day back to work after my little vacation... we went on a retreat as a nice cap on the end of a stressful recruiting year. We spent the morning playing silly games which were, well, silly... but fun! And then after lunch, we went on a canoe trip. I didn't think I'd like it as much as I did. I paddled with Katie, whom I've never gotten to know very well. But we really had a nice time, and I think we have more in common than I originally believed. What a fun day, but now my shoulders hurt!!! Please someone give me a pill.

20th year reunion!

Well, I survived. My 20th high school reunion was this past Saturday. I was nervous. I was stressed. (I planned the event.) And it turned out great, despite myself. I think everyone had a good time. It was great to see everyone again, and I must say, most of my classmates have aged quite well. I'll post some pictures here soon.

adventurin'

I'm sore. Stevie and I went adventurin yesterday in the woods and then I spent a good hour stooped over a bed of weeds. I think I'm just getting too old. Stevie was a good sport, though... especially when he ended up in the creek and almost lost a shoe. I gotta say, I can't wait until we move to the new neighborhood and have all that fun in our back yard. Here's the first finished house in the area... I could definitely live here!

growing up

Sammy has always seemed young, played the part of the "baby" of the family. He's smaller than other kids his age. He's not terribly mature. But tonight, all the sudden, he seemed older to me. Maybe it was because he was wearing a tie. Maybe it was because I could tell he had a crush on girl. Or maybe he's just growing up. Anyway, I'm awfully proud of him and was so excited for him to be inducted into the Beta Club!

So I suck at blogging...

so much so that I haven't posted in almost a full year. I guess the fact that my job has pretty much ruled my waking hours, and much of the sleeping ones, as well, has kept me away from this place.

Besides that whole work thing and all the other crazy things that have happened in the past year, it's almost time for my 20th year high school reunion, and I'm sort of the main organizer of it. Correction, the only. Why did I sign on for this? For fun moments like this, when I run across news of my old high school boyfriend in a predicament like this: http://www.savannahnow.com/node/570719, and to see that 1. he has not aged well, at all, and 2. he lives in my friggin' back yard! I move four states away, and I still can't shake him. Holy cow!

should i be worried...

when i come home to find out the young mad scientist was experimenting with combustibles and singed his hair and forehead?!

I'm officially cool!

I had to take the boys shoe-shopping today for dress shoes. Charlie has a "semi-formal" event at school, being inducted into the Beta Club honor society. Go Bug!!! Anyway, while I was having a personal dilemma, trying to justify spending $60 on a pair of Doc Martin's that I know he'll only wear like three times before his feet grow, rather than spending $35 on a similar pair of Skechers, (how can you deny the coolness of buying Doc Martin's for your kid?!) my phone rang. "A woo-ooo... a woo-ooo," goes my phone, singing out one of my favorite John Mayer songs. The shoe sales clerk comes running up... "That was John Mayer! Oh man, your mom is sooo cool!". Sam says even louder, "Yeah, we know!" That was the best!!!

photo shoot

So I've been washing and waxing my car like crazy this week... because the Red Rocket is going to be in a photo shoot tomorrow afternoon! Yes, a friend of mine asked if she could "borrow" my car as a backdrop for pics of her puppy for some contest. Seems like small potatoes, but she's got a professional photographer and everything! My 15 seconds of fame have arrived!!!

mother of ninjas

Yes, this is what I do on Sunday nights... corral a small group of ninjas for photo ops... then try to get them in bed so they're well-rested for golf in the morning.

tooting my own horn

I don't like to talk about work much on here. But I feel compelled to share... when I got back from my vacation, I learned that I'd be getting a promotion as part of our annual review and restructure process. I wasn't quite sure if it would really happen. You know how it goes, I don't believe it until I see it. Well, last week while I was up in Atlanta, they made the announcement to the entire department via video-conference. Yes, that's me... Director of Undergraduate Admission. Sounds fancy!

back from vacation, the pics...

waiting patiently for the ceremony to begin












the oath











adjusting the ribbons











mother of all bombs











sink hole











tether ball under the boardwalk











shark attack











perfect day at the beach











until the sunburn

House pics

Here are some recent pics, taken at 8 o'clock this evening. I had to do the house and yard in parts, as it's a pretty wide area. Outside pics then some of the inside. Please keep in mind... it's a work in progress! Oh, and please forgive me, I'm having a hard time arranging this page.













left side of yard










left side of house










right side of house













front garden close-up, note sky pencils










high-five palm tree










MINI in the driveway










da boyz in the living room










fireplace shot













foyer and hallway to bedrooms










dining room










the kitchen... much work still to be done in here!










the fish room (and a 120 lb. lab!)










the sunroom

what the he*#?!

Imagine our surprise last night as we were on our nightly walk and noticed this up in one of our oak trees. We immediately knew that Charlie was to blame...

house busters

Holy cow, I am so tired right now. On Saturday Stevie suggested that we do an indoor project, since Tropical Storm Barry was blowing through and it was too yucky outside to dig in the garden. So, we trekked to Walmart to get some paint. I don't even remember what we were going to paint at first. But there I was, looking at color chips, when dude comes over all excited, "Hey, look what we can do!" He had found some mis-matched paint at 50% off, and decided it would be a good idea to buy like 4 gallons and mix them all together and paint the living room and dining room with our new "custom color". I wasn't too keen on the idea, since we spend most of our time in there, I don't want to play crap-shoot with the color. But there I stood with about 6 different color chips, realizing that anyone of them would look good in there, and the colors he had chosen from the mis-match paint were all in the same family, so I gave in. We came home, moved all the furniture to the middle of the room, and went to town. We worked so fast, we thought it would be a good idea to continue painting down the hallway. Then today, he kept painting, this time the sunroom. But through all this "home improvement" I've discovered something about myself. The more I like something, the more I want to clean it. (That would explain why my car is always immaculately clean.) The house looks so nice right now, with the new wood floors and fresh paint, I don't want anyone to get it dirty. Therefore, my hands are red, dry and cracking right now, as I have had a hard time relinquishing my rag and Fabuloso. Stevie finally had to take me for a walk after dinner, to get me to stop cleaning. Okay, gotta go... I hear the boys messing up the kitchen.

Oh, and Steve, I promise, current house pics this week.

awkward

I have a friend. A male. A coworker. I have respect for him because: 1. he's smart 2. he's funny 3. he's a good dad and seemingly a good husband. However, I'm starting to feel weird around him. He seems to be going out of his way to have lunches together, to find common interests, stuff to talk about, to get into my beeswax, to flirt? I can't tell exactly, because he's rather introverted. At first I didn't think anything of it, but now it's getting awkward.