happier times

although i hate that croom could not get the job done, i am also grateful for the respectability that he brought to our program. these are two of my favorite moments from his career. the first is him at a basketball game introducing himself to the fans the week that he was hired.
and here is a more recent one of him at a basketball game presenting the fans with the liberty bowl trophy. thank you for doing the right thing.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Summer Fun

So, as fall approaches, I look back at a busy and fun-filled summer.

June brought Robin's wedding:
John and Grace Harden's wedding reception was also in June (sorry, no pics to post from that). They got married in Jamaica back in March and had a nice reception at his parent's house in Clinton to celebrate. It was the first time that our circle of friends were all able to make it to the same function. It was a nice cool evening that allowed us to sit outside until the mosquitoes started biting. We all went inside and cramped ourselves into an office and continued our rigorous conversations. It was really fun and I didn't want it to end.

The day after the party, I went with another group of friends to see "CATS" at the Orpheum in Memphis (of which I am a season ticket holder). I was looking forward to it, and was a little disappointed. Most people reading this blog know that I am a serious Broadway fan. I just did not understand why this musical played for twenty-plus years. I'm glad I saw it for myself, but I would not recommend it to others. The rest of that week was a blur of going to the airport in the middle of the night and Owen Phipps (who I have yet to meet) being born. That was one fun, exhausting week!

I settled down for the last weekend of June, because on July 2, I went to New York City (pictures are in a post below). I go every summer, but this one was extra special because we were going to be there on July 4. I went with a friend from high school, Natalie. Every time i step foot in Manhattan, I am reminded why I love it so much. Granted, I could never move there, but it is my favorite vacation spot by far. She had never been, so of course we had to do the touristy stuff.

The first day we got there, we mainly walked around midtown. We walked to the park, down 5th Avenue, did the Times Square thing, went to Top of the Rock (so cool!) and just explored. The next day, I HAD to go shopping. After a morning of lugging my friend through various stores in Manhattan, we walked to the park. We walked all the way to the little bridge past Bethesda Fountain before walking back to Primeburger for lunch. Since I had been carrying my bags around all day, I asked her if we could go drop off the bags and then go back out. After dropping off my bags (and stopping to cool off), we went to Serendipity 3. After indulging in the frozen hot chocolates, we walked back to the hotel to shower and dress for the theater. That night, we saw "The Little Mermaid" and had a post theater meal at Sardi's (where Morgan Freeman also dined that night). The next day was the 4th of July and we had tickets to see the Yankees/Red Sox. That was really fun, barring the rain. We left the ballgame, got some ice cream (really, Tasti Delight) and went to change clothes before going back out. We walked all the way to the FDR to watch the fireworks. After the fireworks, we walked ALL the way back to 8th Avenue, got some dinner and went to bed.

The next day, Saturday, I really wanted to go downtown. The first thing we did was go to the TKTS booth to get tickets to another show. I had in my head a short list. In order, they were : Gypsy, Chorus Line, Mary Poppins, and Grease. As we were standing there, my friend let me choose what I wanted to see. Gypsy was my first choice (I mean, please...Patti Lupone!). After getting the tickets, we walked to the World Trade Center, Trinity church, the NYSE, and Federal Reserve hall. We decided to go to Little Italy for lunch. I had gotten a recommendation to eat at a place called Da Nico, so we went there, where I got the most delicious veal parmesan. My friend wanted to ride the Staten Island ferry, so we did that, before venturing back uptown to the hotel. We rested, showered and went to the theater. The St. James may be my favorite theater and Patti Lupone did not disappoint. The next day, we flew home. After many, many, MANY delays, we made it home at 3am.

After the NYC trip, I settled down for a while. Then, I turned 31. Since my birthday was on Saturday, I got the whole weekend. I had a cookout at McIntyre Lake Friday night, lunch, time at the pool and steak Saturday night, and then Mama Mia and dinner at Lillo's on Sunday. What a great birthday! I didn't make any more travel plans for the rest of the month, citing the need to stay in one place and save some money.

Then comes August. First, there was Kim and Dusty's wedding. It was very hot, but it was alot of fun. We sat out at Lake Tiak O'Khata for a long time after the reception was over and just visited. I've got a surprise party in Ridgeland this weekend, a wedding shower in Brandon the next, then I am working the next weekend, and then off to Jamie's on August 29th for the first football game...and to meet baby Owen.

Amid all this, I did manage to work and spend time with my friends and family. Work is going very well. I love what I do and I got a raise over the summer, so life couldn't be better. I am having tons of fun and am not slowing down anytime soon. Okay, I am finished with this blog post. I think its the longest one I've ever done. I wonder if anyone actually reads this or if its just for my personal entertainment. Either way is fine with me!

new york 5.0

Each picture leads to a different photo album....

Burning Up The Road

May was a busy, busy month for me. I was out of town three of four weekends in the month for various parties and showers; Marilyn's reception, Kimberly's shower, and a visit to my very pregnant friend Jamie. The pictures above are from Kim's shower and Rush, Jamie's insane three year old, and a Memphis Redbirds game with Natalie.

Bon Jovi Videos

This first one is "wanted". He asked everyone to stand for our national anthem....and then started the song.


This one is "make a memory". He performed this song five rows from our seats.


This one is a small clip of "livin' on a prayer".

yes, it's true....

first of all, yes, i went to the spring scrimmage at ole miss . it was not a joke. i did not lose a bet. I went on my own free will. My good friend Jay is on the coaching staff (he's the one in the red hat) and I wanted to go to show my support for him (not the team he helps coach). I knew that I would have a free ticket, so when his mother Debbie asked me to go, I told her I would. So, here is the story ....

we get to oxford and went to jay's apartment to get the tickets and parking pass. we drive around on campus for a bit until we decide to go park the car. now, we have a parking pass to park at the IPF, where the coaches park. Debbie goes to ask someone how we get to the stadium without going all the way around the practice field. The security guard doesn't know, but he goes to get someone to help us. an official looking guy asks us where we are parked and when we informed him that we were parked in the coach's parking lot, he asks us who we know. she explains that she's jay's mother, and suddenly, we are ushered inside the IPF. then, the official looking guy, who we now know as beaumont, gets a helper to escort us to the family section. so, we're walking down this long hallway and our escort stops for a second, so we stop. i look up and see this huge picture of deuce mcallister running against mississippi state. i put my hand on the state player's picture (i'm pretty sure it was josh morgan), and think to myself "its going to be ok". as i am turning back around, i notice houston nutt walking behind us. debbie asks me if she should say something and i told her she should, so when he came by us, she stopped him. we chatted it up with him for a minute and he graciously extends his hand and introduces himself to me. i get all nervous and barely get out "its nice to meet you". then, he's gone. i look in front of me , and all of a sudden, i realize that the chucky mullins statue - the one i've only seen on tv- is in front of me...and behind it is the stadium. we are in the tunnel.

suddenly, it hits me that we are about to walk out on the field. debbie is three or four steps in front of me, and she tells me "whatever you do, do not turn around" so, at this point i am scared, but i will not turn around. then, a football player whizzes by me. shortly behind him, is more football players. they are funneling around me...yes, i am standing there as they are running on both sides of me. when there is a break in the crowd, i slide to my left. and there is eli manning. i smile at him and find our escort, who takes us to our seat- on the front row of vaught-hemingway stadium. after the game is over, i hear "coach's family down here". we have to go back on the field. as we are walking, the band is playing dixie, the players are milling around the fence and talking to fans, and there i am. the whole experience was wasted on me, a person that could not care less about ole miss. it was fun, but the story makes it more fun to share the fact that i, 100% bulldog, led the ole miss team on the field for the spring football game.



the pictures : this first one is just of jay with the ole miss logo
here's jay acting like he's paying attention....he's probably not

this is eli manning and patrick willis, who did the coin toss.

St. Patrick's Day 2008

Click here for a fun St. Patrick's Day greeting. Starring some of my favorite people. Created by Todd.