Getting Reaquainted

It's been a solid 6 years and 3 months since my last post.  But hey, it's my blog and I'll do what I want (dammit).  It seems a lot can change in 6 years.  Here are the surprisingly long Cliffnotes™:

• I started working freelance as a camera operator for high school football at a TV station back in South Carolina.  It was super convenient to all my marching band stuff and, since I was already driving in for practice on Thursdays, going to class on Fridays, and staying for competitions on Saturdays before driving back for work on Sundays, it made sense to make some extra money to pay for the trips.  So I ran camera on Friday nights.  And I loved it!

• I wanted to keep doing that work; The guys I worked with (I was literally the only female on crew) convinced me to apply for an open job at the station.  So I did.  And I interviewed.  On the phone.  Then in person.  Then I got the rejection email.  No big deal.  I was still slated to work freelance with them.  Plus I had gotten a few other freelance gigs from those guys.  So I was still able to do work that I was passionate about.

• I went on a "girls vacation" with my mom, my aunt, and my older cousin (not the one from my previous posts).  Mom and I got to the beach house first.  My aunt and cousin were meeting us there the next day.  Early the next morning (and by early, I mean sunrise -- the women in my family don't sleep very much, so we see a lot of sunrises), mom and I are enjoying coffee while waiting for my aunt (she doesn't live far away, so she's expected to arrive by 9ish).  I check my email on a whim and the General Manager of the TV station in the above bullet point emailed me to have me call him.  Which I did.  Approximately 8 minutes after he emailed me.  He had talked with the powers that be, and another position just like the one I had applied for had been created and he offered it to me, if I was "still interested".  I accepted it on the spot.  Needless to say, there were mimosas the second my aunt got to the house - literally as soon as she got there....we didn't even have a chance to unload her car before my mom spilled the beans and grabbed the champagne she knew my aunt had in the cooler for later that night ('cause we're classy and drink champagne for no reason other than we like it).  My husband was less than pleased when I called and told him the news.  He knew I'd applied for the job.  He didn't think I'd get it.  Looking back, I think he was glad I was rejected for the job.  It's not that he wanted me to fail.  He just liked the way things were.  I don't fault him for being comfortable and not wanting things to change.

• I moved back to South Carolina and started the new job within two weeks of coming back from vacation.  I never even hesitated.  This was meant to be.  I could feel it.  Because it was so quick, my parents offered to let me stay with them until other arrangements could be made - an arrangement I will forever be grateful for!  Kids, be grateful for what your parents do for you.  Be gracious when they offer help.  Accept their help, but be sure that they know how grateful you are.  This is precious time you have with them.

• Things are going ok for a while.  I loved my job - I was creative and it was encouraged.  I was weird and quirky and it was celebrated.  I had finally found my tribe, my people; The ones that thought like me and understood me.  I created a bunch of commercials (that got exponentially better with time), I got to continue running camera for an increasing number of live events, and I was able to still teach Colorguard and add Winterguard to my band repertoire. 

• Six months in and my knee gives out on me again.  I've had problems with my knee for as long as I can remember.  I dislocated my kneecap when I was 20 (that's a story for another day) and had been in and out of a brace since then (I have a startling collection of old, worn-out knee braces...it's kind of embarrassing).  So my knee gives out at the beginning of football/marching band season.  Thankfully, one of the guys working in our sports department at the TV station had some connections and was able to get me in to see a really good knee specialist (for any USC Gamecock fans, you've all seen him and his work -- he fixed Marcus Lattimore's knee after what was termed a "career ending injury".  Legit, go google his injury.  It's brutal!  But this doctor was able to not just repair his knee; This doctor gave him his career back -- Marcus Lattimore went on to play for the 49ers before returning to the Gamecocks on their staff.  But I digress....).  This specialist realized something no other doctor noticed before -- turns out I'm slightly bow-legged and one of my legs was shorter than the other while I was growing (they've apparently evened themselves out now...?) and somehow all of this caused my kneecaps to not actually sit in the groove they're supposed to.  Which is apparently why it was so easy for me to dislocate my knee a decade prior.  So he scheduled me for surgery to fix my kneecap.  Mostly so I wouldn't have to rely on knee braces for the rest of my life, but also to try to alleviate the constant pain I've learned to accept as a fact of life (trust....I have a stupid high pain tolerance.  Many medical professionals have vocalized their astonishment at my ability to carry on in the face of pain that would bring down a large buffalo.  I'm also quite stubborn which could be part of it.....)

• I manage to make it through the entire football/marching band season and through the teaching phase for the winterguard season before I've scheduled my surgery - I've planned it for the week prior to competitions, cause that's clearly enough time to recover from major surgery (I am sometimes not a smart person.  I am also quite stubborn, in case I glossed over that fact earlier.  Like, stupidly stubborn.)  I took the day off for my surgery, was in the hospital overnight but released early Saturday, made it home in enough time to get dressed and head to an awards show that my department had submitted work in.  Then back to my retail job on Sunday and back to work at the station on Monday.  (Did I mention I'm stubborn?)  For anyone curious, I had two procedures in one -- I had a lateral release where the doctor cut ligaments on the outside of my knee so they would no longer pull my kneecap out of alignment, since this seems to have caused my knee to go out on me so many times since I dislocated it the first time (I apparently ripped a large amount of ligaments and such on the inside of my knee all those years ago and nothing was done to repair the damage.  Because....stubborn....).  The doctor also did an osteotomy, something I had never heard of before.  Basically, from my understanding, the doctor cut my shin where the ligaments that run over the kneecap and hold it in place meet the bone.  He then shimmied that piece of bone over a bit so that my kneecap will line up perfectly with the groove in which it is supposed to live, and screws that piece of bone back to my shin.  When I went to physical therapy after the procedure, my therapists told me they'd studied the therapies for the procedure I'd had done, but I was the first patient they'd actually seen that had undergone that procedure.  From what I'm told, most people opt for a total knee replacement because that's easier to heal from and the therapy isn't as intense as what you get from an osteotomy.  Well, the intense therapy is only part of it; the thing that really got me was the emotional impact.  I wasn't ready for that.  I don't think anyone could've been.

• I had a rough time balancing my two jobs (TV station job and retail job) as well as teaching winterguard - I was working 80+ hours a week on an easy week.  I was doing physical therapy 3 times a week.  I wasn't allowed to drive because my surgery was on my "driving" leg - I couldn't bend my knee for the longest time.  None of that broke me.  The realization that I may never dance again or be able to continue teaching marching band and winterguard did.  I've been dancing longer than I can remember.  And guard has been in my blood in since high school - literally half my life.  Even now, almost three years later (it'll be three years next month since my surgery), I still feel those feelings and I still hear those thoughts.  The despair of not returning to things that have brought me joy and that have been my solace in times of despair.  The fear that that part of me is lost forever.  It was too much for me.  I lost all faith in the process, for the first time in my life.  I felt hopeless.  I crumpled to the floor and sobbed for all I had lost, because it felt like I had lost a large part of me.  I felt like my body had betrayed me.  And my husband was tired of me moping.  He told me to "stop being so overdramatic".  That was when I knew I needed to be there for me, because if my own husband couldn't be there for me, who could?  Thankfully, I have wonderful friends who have become very close framily (friend + family = framily) and they helped me through the dark times.  I owe them everything, and I will never be able to repay the debt.

• I asked for a separation two and a half months after my surgery.  Sometimes when you go through difficult times, it can bring you closer.  Sometimes, it shows you that you aren't where you're supposed to be.  We divorced 16 months later; In South Carolina, you need to be legally separated in separate residences for one full year before you can file for a divorce.  Then, and only then, can divorce proceedings begin, which can sometimes be a lengthy process.  I need to be very clear on this - my husband was not and is not a bad person.  He was not a bad husband.  He was just not the right person for me.  I realize that.  I am very strong and stubborn and hard to deal with sometimes (a lot of the time).  And I was not the right person for him either.  It was better, as I saw it, to let him go find his person.  And to let me go find mine.  I can only hope that the bitterness with which we parted leaves him; he is a fun, genuine, kind soul, and I will probably always feel sad for the darkness he's endured at my hand.

Fast forward to now.  Sorry the Cliffnotes™ weren't as short as I'd expected.  It turns out a lot really has happened.  I have moved to a different department at the TV station - I work in news now.  It's not what I dreamed I'd be doing at this point in my life.  But it's a challenge that I will continue to meet head on with each new day.  I have also found my person; He held my hand and was steadfast by my side a few months ago when I had to say goodbye to my wonderful cat of 15 years after she suffered a short battle with renal disease.  He's challenged me to become better not just professionally, but personally - he supports my work with marching band and winterguard and pushes me to make each year and each show better.  The winterguard show I'm currently working on is to help bring awareness to mental health and suicide prevention.  He encourages me to do the impossible; He helps make the impossible, possible.  He's a partner to me, and I hope to be as good a partner to him as we continue on this journey called life.

Learning to Live a Passionate Life

I've been thinking a lot lately.  I quit my waitressing job almost a month ago and I've been trying to build up some freelance stuff while I'm still working at my retail job.  That sounds like a lot of working...and it is.  But I don't really feel like I'm working.  Let me explain -- I think I should start at the beginning.  For those of you that have been reading since I started this blog a few months back, y'all know that my aunt died and my cousin went to live with my parents.  Keep in mind that I'm in my late-20's and I'm the baby of the family, so my parents haven't had a teenager in their house in over a decade.  Since they're a little out of practice (and retirement age...) I've been helping out as much as I can.  So when they went on vacation in August I was more than happy to stay with my cousin as she came back from band camp and started her senior year in school.  When I went to pick her up from band camp I realized that two of the instructors were in band with me in high school and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to hang out with some old friends and sort of re-live the good ol' times.  The colorguard instructor now is actually a transplant from another section in the band; my senior year was Melvin's freshman year and he marched brass back then.  After that season he confided in me and my co-captain, Arin, that he really wanted to be on colorguard.  What can I say?  We were that awesome!  So Arin and I taught him everything we knew and, sure enough, he made it on the colorguard that next year.  Which was quite a feat; when I auditioned for the colorguard my sophomore year, I got the sixth, and final, spot out of 100 people that auditioned.  Trust me, band was cutthroat back in my day.

Fast-forward to ten years later and we're being reunited at band camp and he's the instructor.  You can't see it, but I'm still beaming like a proud momma!  Anyway, since I was going to be in town for 2 weeks, most of which my cousin was going to be in school and at band practice anyway, I needed to find something to do...so I asked if I could come to practice and observe once or twice.  To say that I was honored that he would ask me to come help out with his colorguard would be an understatement!  I haven't been on a guard since college band (my last year in college band was 2010 -- I was the only graduate student in band and I quickly realized why...it is just too hard to try to juggle all of that plus school plus a job plus any farce of a social life).  But spinning a flag is kinda like riding a bike...you never really forget how to do it; it just sort of becomes a part of you -- only I never realized what a huge part of me it is.  So I've been driving back and forth (two states away, mind you) for the past month and a half to help out with our guard.  Melvin insists that it is our guard and not his guard anymore since Arin and I have started coming to help.  And I kind of like that.  It's been a while since I've been a part of a guard, and even longer since I've been in a position of leadership where I felt comfortable calling one my guard.  And I'm realizing very quickly that he's right.  It is our guard and they are our girls.

I haven't felt this alive in a long time and I know it's because I haven't been true to myself about what I want from life.  I want to make a difference and I want to make life beautiful; I want to be passionate about what I do.  I don't want to work...I want to live out my dreams and my passions every day!  I want to help others find their passion!  Life has no meaning without passion and being stuck at the restaurant I was at for the last two and a half years had simply sucked the life out of me -- I mean, I was always at work (even on my days off) and if I asked for time off to go pursue something that interested me, something that I was passionate about, I was quickly dismissed and was stuck working anyway.  So I'm glad I gave up that job, and that life, for the uncertainty that I'm quickly finding so comforting in my future.  I don't know where I'll be ten years from now...hell, I don't even know where I'll be ten days from now, but I do know that as long as I stay true to myself and live my passion, I can't go wrong.  Life has new meaning for me, and I encourage each and every one of you to throw caution to the wind, find your passion, and live it!  You don't have to quit your job or completely change your life or do something drastic like I did...I'm in a place where I could afford to throw that much caution to the wind without stressing about it.  What I mean is that at some point in your life you're going to look back on your accomplishments and what you did with your life.  Don't you think you owe it to yourself to at least have one hell of a ride?

Taking Time to Re-Evaluate

So, I haven't written in a month...my bad...  I honestly didn't realize what an impact my last post would have on me.  I mean, I sat down and just wrote everything that came to mind when I thought about what I stand for and what I thought should be on my "dammit list."  And apparently, just putting it to paper (metaphorically speaking...) has forced me to re-evaluate my life and its direction.  So, in the past month I've thought a lot and I've decided that, for the time being, I'm going to have to work for myself and focus on my freelance work.  And I'm ok with that.  So I put in my two-weeks notice at the restaurant (and my last day will be Wednesday!  Yay!) and I've picked up some freelance stuff on the side.  Don't get me wrong -- I know I need a regular paycheck to pay my bills.  I'm not just flying off half-cocked and hoping for the best...I'm keeping one my retail job that allows me more flexibility to do my freelance but still pays my bills.  Now, I know it's gonna be hard to go out on my own and make it work, but I'm up for the challenge.  'Cause let's face it, everything in life that is worth anything is going to be hard; that's what makes it so rewarding!  So, on that note, I'm off to work on my freelance.  I'm hoping to write more often now that I've sort of redirected my life...

My List

I know I haven't written in a bit, but I came across this blog about a month ago and I've been reading some posts here and there and it really got me thinking.  I feel right now that I should warn you that there will be some heavy use of the word "dammit," so if that offends you, you might wanna just move on along...  Alright.  So everyone who's offended at the word dammit has left (or at least we hope so...because I really don't wanna hear about how I shouldn't use that word blah blah blah -- they had their warning).  As I was saying at the beginning, I came across a new-to-me blog about a month ago (I'm not sure how I got there, but I'm really glad I did!) and I read this page about creating a dammit list, and I wanted to give it a try.  So without further ado, here it is:

My Dammit List
I do not have to wait tables for the rest of my life, dammit!

I do not have to work for The Man to feel adequate, dammit! *

Success is what I make it to be, dammit!

Just because I will tolerate working with stupid people doesn't mean I have to always be nice to them, dammit!

I will wear whatever makes me feel comfortable or pretty or sexy or whatever, dammit!

I will make a positive impact while I'm here on Earth, dammit!

I will recycle and up-cycle everything I possibly can, dammit! **

I have always been and will always be a strong individual, dammit!

I will forgive you once if you screw me over -- after that, you're on my shit list, dammit!

I have my diva moments, and sometimes they are truly necessary, dammit!

I will not watch what I eat to maintain a societally accepted body weight/shape/size/whatever, dammit! ***

Respect is earned, dammit!

If you act like an asshole, I will treat you like an asshole, dammit!

I have a very long bucket list that I add to constantly, because I have stuff to accomplish, dammit!

And I do check stuff off that bucket list, so I have to add more stuff to accomplish, dammit!

I stand up for myself, dammit!

I will not be a victim, dammit! ****

I am a feminist, dammit!

I am creative, dammit!

I am learning to speak my mind, whether or not anyone else likes it, dammit!

I'm kinda quirky, and that's how I like it, dammit!

*This doesn't mean I don't want to work for The Man ever, but it does mean that I can still feel adequate if I'm doing my own freelance gig for a bit.

**This is something I learned from my grandmother (she survived the Great Depression).

***But I will do it for health reasons...

****This doesn't mean shit hasn't happened or won't happen to me -- it means I choose to learn from the experience and I do things to ensure it doesn't happen again.

I'm sure this isn't all that will ever be on my Dammit List, but it's a work in progress...I think it is always in progress.  So I'm sure I'll add to it and take away from it and everything else throughout the years.  But for now, that's a pretty good Dammit List.  Enjoy and start your own Dammit List, dammit!

Beachy Birthday

This past weekend we celebrated my cousin's birthday (in case you missed it or don't remember, here's the post about planning the party).  I know I promised lots of pics of the party, so this post is gonna be very picture heavy with a little running commentary just to clarify some stuff.  I was gonna start off with a picture of the invitations, but I forgot to take a picture of them before I mailed them off...so I'll just describe them for a quick second because they were so darn cute!  I got some silver card stock and matching envelopes and printed the invitation information on the front side (not so cute...just necessary...) and I got a stencil of a few hibiscus flowers that I painted in purple on the back (because purple is my cousin's favorite color).  When I stuffed the envelope, I made sure to put it so that when people opened the invitation they saw the hibiscus flowers first.  And since the flowers were there, I decided to put the flowers on the back of the envelope after I sealed them too (just to throw in that extra little cuteness and continuity).  So those were the invitations - simple, efficient, and super cute!  OK.  Now on to the fun part...PICTURE TIME!!! (I took 400 pictures, but I'll only put up the best pictures here!  I know y'all don't want to scroll through pictures AND running commentary for that long...)

First up is the pre-party (a.k.a. last minute prep work):

Since she has the best handwriting of all of us, Janet got to write cute little saying on note cards to put them in the party favors so we could do a "message in a bottle."

So here's the "message in a bottle" party favors.  Well, party favors for the girls, anyway...I forgot the take a picture of the guys' party favors.  Anyway, remember those candles from this post?  Well, I took all the jars and washed them (a lot...probably 3-4 cycles in the dishwasher after soaking in boiling-lava-hot water...) and I painted the lids with chalkboard paint (thank you Pinterest!  And Martha Stewart!) so that I could write everyone's name on the top (let's be honest, who doesn't like a little personalization every once in a while?  Not to mention, that way they knew it was chalkboard and they could write on it).  Now, in the girls' jars, I put a salt scrub and in the boys' jars I put graham cracker crumbs and chocolate seashells Kasey made, and everyone got a message in their jar.  This is what they looked like:

 

Next up is our grill master Adam and my cousin Kasey (not the birthday girl, obviously...that would kind of ruin the surprise).  Kasey has just finished artfully decorating note cards for the food table to tell everyone what food is there (kind of a necessity when we had about 6 different types of salsa and 4 different seasonings for the chicken...).  Adam is helping put umbrellas in the note cards so they'll stand on their own.  They're so crafty!

This is kind of at the end of "pre-party" and we were goofing off while waiting for the birthday girl to get back home (we sent her out for the day with my niece and nephew so they could go see a movie and we could get all this done and surprise her when she got home).  So this is Adam and Stephanie - I wrote about them and Janet (from the first picture) in this post.  Aren't they adorable!?!?

Anyway...back to my cousin.  When she got home, I had a big surprise for her!  She was so upset that we rushed her out of the house in the morning and she didn't get time to fix her hair or put on her makeup before she left for the movies (and she was worried she wouldn't have time afterward to get ready for the party).  Well, it's a good thing I had already planned for the most talented stylist (Arin Hill of Beauty by A. Hill) in a 100 mile radius to come do her hair and makeup!  I'll admit it, I'm a little biased...Arin did hair and makeup for my wedding (I mean, she was one of my 9 bridesmaids - don't judge, I'm from the South...that's just how we roll! - so why would I ask anyone else to do my hair and makeup?  I don't trust anyone but her!  I even drive 6 hours each way to get a haircut!) and Arin's been doing my hair and makeup since high school!  So of course I had to ask Arin to come and give my cousin a fabulous beachy makeover for her birthday!

So, while I left my cousin in Arin's always capable hands, I had to check and make sure everything was in place so the party could start.  These are the cards Adam and Kasey had worked on earlier.  Aren't they adorable!?!?  I told you they were crafty!

This is what the snack food table looked like.  We had chips and salsa (I'm not sure where the chips went for this picture....but they were there for the party!) and boiled peanuts to snack on while Adam manned the grill (which he did for most of the party...but that's probably because my husband was supposed to be helping, but the two of them ended up eating food off the grill while they were cooking...so I only think half the food they cooked ended up on the table).  Anyway, I took a beach blanket and set it out with an umbrella on top with some paper lanterns hung off of it because, well, why not?  My cousin brought up a pirate ship and sand castle she painted and I had a few sand toys, so we put them on the railing so sort of round out the table.

And in the corner were all the props for photo-boothing if anyone wanted to (which was not as big a hit as I had anticipated, but that's probably because once someone got a hold of a prop, it stayed on their person for the duration of the party...which made for even funnier pictures than the photo booth itself...which I would say is a much bigger win!)

Here is our grill master, showing off his potatoes.  I think those potatoes were the most popular food at the party -- we went through 10 pounds of potatoes in about an hour...

Now that the party girl is ready, it's time to get her lei'd (minds out of the gutter people...she's only 17).  Since my nephew was all about handing out the beads from the photo booth to everyone, I figured he'd enjoy putting the lei on my cousin.  He did it with such a sense of honor, it was adorable!  It looked like he had waited his whole life for that moment!  (Might I add that he takes his tasks very seriously, which is why this was so freakin' adorable!)

Now it's party time!!!

First up for the photo booth is the always lovely Arin, the birthday girl, and my niece.  I would like to emphasize that Arin enjoyed that skirt so much, she ran upstairs to borrow some soffe shorts from cousin so she could wear that skirt for the entire party.  Much hilarity ensued!

Now, we had swimmies for the photo booth, but since I have child-size forearms, they would only fit on me.  So I wore them for about 5 minutes until my forearms started sweating (seriously, who knew forearms could sweat?) and they became table decoration.

And what beach party would be complete without hula hoops?

She decided she's much better at hula hooping on her arm...

I was a little nervous the whole day because it was on-again off-again raining...but that didn't stop my dad!  I think he enjoyed having the porch to himself while the rest of us stayed dry in the screened-in porch (a.k.a. the tiki bar).

Of course, we had to amuse ourselves somehow with the rain.  So we brought the hula hoops in there.  Stephanie prepped for about 5 minutes to hula hoop and I'm pretty sure it fell straight to the ground...

Back to the grill master.  We did grilled pineapple (which was amazing, I must say).  And I'm pretty sure that's my husband's arm...eating potatoes...right off the grill.  Like I said, I'm sure half the food that was cooked was consumed by those two straight off the grill...

This is my puppy in his new Hawaiian shirt!  He was begging for food...

While the guys were still grilling, we decided to go ahead and do cake and presents because, well, it's cake.  Who wouldn't want to do cake and presents before dinner?  So, I did a miniature cake for my cousin (in her favorite color, of course) with some sugar seashells on top surrounded by graham crackers and chocolate seashells (we found that candle holder at my mom's house and figured it would make a PERFECT cake stand!)

She had no idea I put some trick candles in there (and by some I mean an entire pack...).  Also, I'm pretty sure those flying bits are graham cracker crumbs...  It's a good thing we all don't mind sharing a little spit every once in a while!

Still trying to get all those trick candles without inhaling too much smoke...

Still trying...

I think she's nervous they'll relight themselves again...

Since we did a personal-size cake for my cousin, we did cupcakes for the rest of the guests.  We had blue ones that kind of looked like waves and we had some covered in graham cracker crumbs with an umbrella in them to look like the beach.  And of course our platter of graham cracker crumbs with chocolate seashells.

Now on to presents.  This is just to show how fun my family is.  This kind of picture is very typical in my family.

Oh, and when you give your cousin a guitar, it's best to wrap it in unconventional objects to make it more fun.

Of course, everything is more fun with feather boas!

Especially when you and your friend can wear them proudly while you remove the crepe paper that is literally wrapped around the entire guitar...

And here's most of us from the party (I say most because some people had already left to go get children and whatnot...).

What kind of party would it be without the goofy picture?  (I kid you not, that's about as goofy as Janet gets without a little liquid encouragement...)

So that's the end of it.  I hope you guys enjoyed these pictures as much as we enjoyed the party!  I think I've upheld my title as Cool-Cousin-Party-Planning-Diva fairly well.  So thanks for stopping by and have a great one!  I'll see you on the next post!

I Have the Best Friends

Today's post is all about my amazing friends.  I talk a lot about things that happen and things that I'm doing, but I rarely talk about things that just are.  So today I wanted to do just that.  I promise to make this short and not so mushy, but this really does deserve some attention.  I have the best friends in the entire world!  I mean, they are always there for me, no matter how long it's been since we've last talked.  These are the kinds of friends you hope to have 1 or 2 of in your entire life; I'm lucky enough to be surrounded by a large group of friends this amazing!  As you guys read in my last post, I'm planning my cousin's first ever actual birthday party -- something we all take for granted until you realize some people just aren't lucky enough to have birthday parties (for financial reasons or otherwise).  So this weekend while I was attending my 10-year high school reunion (seriously, where did the time go?!?!), I was having lunch with some friends from high school and we were hanging out before the reunion started so they could help me plan the birthday party.

**I feel I should mention here, that one of these friends (my old college roommate) helped me and my mom out of a bind about a month ago when I called her on a Saturday to see if she could come stay with my cousin on Tuesday while my parents were out of town since she didn't have her driver's license yet and still had to go to school and band practice.  Needless to say, even with only a 3-day notice, my friend didn't hesitate to say yes.  That's true friendship right there - helping out on short notice without expecting anything in return!

Anyway, back to this past weekend.  We were all sitting on the porch while I was going through my checklist (I'm mildly obsessive about lists and schedules and really anything to help me keep track of things without having to remember stuff...even though I have a partially photographic memory...), and out of the blue, my friend from high school (who, coincidentally, is dating my old college roommate whom I didn't know until we roomed together in college...small world, right?) yelled, "What are we doing for food?!?!"  Since he was having a nerd moment with my husband talking about movies and nerdy card games and such, I didn't realize that he was referring to the birthday party all of us girls were discussing...so I reminded him that there would be food at the reunion.  At this point in time, he looked confused (probably less so than me, at the time), and said, "No, for the party.  I make a great jerk chicken.  Oh, I know!  I'll grill some pineapple too.  Maybe some mango.  I'll need to marinate the chicken for a day or two, so I'll need a head-count by about Wednesday so I can get everything I need.  And we'll need to come over early that morning so I can set up the grill and we can help decorate until the party starts."  I hadn't even given much thought to food except that it needed to be beachy-type food.  I was going back and forth about pulled pork (Hawaiian Luau style) or cucumber sandwiches on croissants (upscale-beach-resort style) or looking up traditional foods in other beach locales.

**Also worth mentioning here is the fact that I have a HUGE space to decorate - a deck and an attached screened in porch.  So, to save time and money on decorations (and also to give it a more personalized beach feel aside from the tried and true typical "luau party" - you know the one...we've all been to that party where someone forgot to plan ahead of time and ran to get decorations the morning of the party and just let Party City vomit all over their party space...something I refuse to do...) we're going with a more upscale "beach resort" themed party with a tiki bar for food and photo booth stuff (I mean, what beach resort is complete without a tiki bar, right?).  But I digress...

The fact that he just jumped in there and took that off my plate, especially since I didn't have to delegate that duty to anyone (and I'm already swamped with everything else that's going on -- keep in mind I have 2 jobs, I live 2 states away, I'm trying to find my cousin some scholarships for college since no one saved up for it and we don't want her to have huge student loan debts like her mom, and I'm trying to coordinate all of this simultaneously), is phenomenal!  And you know, that's just the kind of person he is.  So now, I have a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders as far as planning this thing, and my friends have all met my cousin (they remember when she lived with us 10 years ago when I was a senior...mostly because she was my 7-year old shadow while she was with us) and they live right up the road if she ever needs anyone.  And they really enjoyed hanging out with her and they even gave her their phone numbers in case she ever needed to call them for anything.  I didn't have to ask.  They just did it.  What can I say?  I have the most wonderful friends anyone could ever ask for!

Mother's Day DIY

This year for Mother's Day, I decided to go all DIY; I was looking around my apartment (while I was spring cleaning...which I've been doing A LOT of lately...I mean, I've filled an entire room *literally* with stuff to sell/donate) and I realized I have tons of old glass vases that I've never used.  I mean, I'm allergic to flowers so I don't really have a need for vases...  So I decided to paint them as part of my Mother's Day gifts this year.  The first one was clear and had a very pretty design, but you couldn't really see it much - you had to feel it to notice the design.  So I painted the inside black and grabbed some white paint for the outside.  Ta-da!

The second vase I painted started as a plain white vase.  It took a while to figure out what I was going to do, so I just grabbed some paint and started laying down some abstract lines here and there.  Once I got the green on the bottom, I decided to do a spring-y flower-y kinda design.  Sooooo..........ta-da!

Next, I wanted to make some cute holders for everyone's stuff.  I found this pin (don't look so surprised...you all know I love Pinterest!) and instantly I knew that would be a PERFECT way to package everything up.  I do want to say that my little baskets did not turn out nearly as pretty, but they're not as bad as I thought they would be.  Of course, they might have turned out mildly better had I not asked my husband to help me (he's not that crafty, but I enjoyed the help).  So these are the little baskets:

I have to admit, it took longer to sew the buttons on than it took to glue the baskets together and to glue the ribbon on, but I still like how they turned out.

I have to admit, I think the purple one was my favorite!

This is what they all looked like, packaged up and everything.  ENJOY!!!