Gobble Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Heading home to good ole Culpeper, Virginia. I love home. I miss it dearly sometimes. But that's why it is so great to visit!!!!!!!

advice, help, tricks of the trade?

How do I stop biting my nails?

This is a bad habit that I have been fighting for over 20 years here people. It is a nervous habit. I do it when stressed, upset, over tired, etc etc..... welcome to my world. There is a picture of me, playing soccer (back in the day when we probably still swarmed the ball the entire length of the field), 5 or 6 years old, mid-game, biting my nails. I have tried just about everything in the past. I am ready to give it another go. I want nails by Christmas. I have a month. HELP!

Somebody's getting married!!!!

and well, we all know it sure isn't me!!!

Congratulations Laurel!!!!! xoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxo

Germany, Hard Rock Cafe, Spring 2004 (me=1, laurel=3 from left)

The last day of classes, Spring '05

Graduation, '05 (Laurel=2 from left)Kelley's Rehearsal, Spring '06 Wrightsville Beach, Summer '06

Raleigh, Winter '06/'07Ro's Wedding, Williamsburg, Summer '08

2 Officially down.... 1 now on it's way... 5ish to go!!!!

It done did it!!!

It snowed it snowed it snowed.. And I am proud to say that I was just as excited as my Kindergarteners. We saw flurries in the morning, then out during recess, then while visiting the Book Fair (didn't you just LOVE the book fair?? they're still awesome) it was like a blizzard outside!!! Then it did it again about 45 minutes later!! Go Raleigh!!!! We quickly realized we needed to go back to our weather graph and change it from 'dry' to 'snowy'. Because as Yogi put it, "Mrs. Tholand, we have to change it. This could be our only chance!" If you only knew this child, and the urgency with which he said it, you would know why i JUST HAD to change it.

wow

soooo, I know I know. I've been completely MIA. I started feeling so anti-social, as previously mentioned, so I've been trying to be more available, see more people. But that's just plain exhausting sometimes!! On top of it all, I still have this horrible cough, I'm still having stomach issues (thanks to my lack of a gall bladder), and I'm pretty much feeling like crap 24-7. So it takes a lot of effort to be around and attempting normalcy. Whine whine whine, b**ch bi**h bit**. BUT, after an awful morning so far, coughing so violently an emergency trip to the toilet was necessary, arriving at school 45 minutes earlier than the meeting started, NO HEAT at school yet (they promise it's on, it just takes about an hour for it to really kick in), I'm putting all that aside, and staring longingly out the window to hopefully see some...............

Though it'll probablyl only be one lonely little guy floating down to Earth....

Whatever, I like snow. What am I saying. I LOVE SNOW!!!! Sometimes I really wonder why I live in the South................. well, not really ;-)

River and Oysters and Family OH MY

Let me preface this entry with: I have needed some personal time, some me time. So please don't judge me for the LONG weekend I am about to describe :)

SO, last Friday morning I left a beautiful sunny and delightful Raleigh to meet up with my parents at Wharton Grove. It's my brothers Godfather's/father's best friend's house on the River just across from Urbanna, just up from Irvington in the thriving metropolis of Weems, Virginia. If you don't know any of those names, then you've never been there, so don't worry about it. ANYWAY, this is how a good ole river house should be. I love it. Don't mind the ivy growing into the house or the wysteria growing over the porch door or the absolutely amazing view from the deck over the River at sunset. There were a few reasons for this visit. See family, celebrate lil bro's 18th birthday (he's at boarding school across the River), and attend the Urbanna Oyster Festival, attended by thousands every year. SO I was super excited. Sadly Pav of Pav and the Goose was going to come with, but the new second job (which she needs to tell us about!) took precidence.

That night, we go to Rose's Steak House for the bday dinner up in Kilmarnock (I feel like I'm name dropping here; I just love this area of Virginia and don't you just love the names!!!). Little bro not so casually kept drinking my beer. I was so proud! Papa got a bucket of the peanuts they had at the front door, and just assumed that once cracked, the shells go on the floor. Well, no, this was not the case. So then he starts just dumping the shells on the nice black table cloth. Well, the look on our waiter's face as he walked up quickly told me that wasn't where they went either. He quickly turned around, grabbed another one of the tiny buckets and promptly put it down right in front of my father... who proceeded to crack and throw on the floor/table... Men.. But lil bro's friend (apparent BFF of the moment), we'll call him cutie, I mean, dreamboat, I mean WHOA best friend of my 18 year old brother!! AHH, ladies (and perhaps gentlemen), this kid is too cute for words I wanted to take him up, put him in my pocket, and take him home with me. He is so articulate, so mature, has done and seen so much, he literally mesmerized me most of dinner. He is gonna be a lady killer. (The next morning at breakfast, he sat down next to me and I couldn't help but kinda smile; how cougar-esque of me!!!) Anyway, moving on, we went back to Wharton Grove to open presents. I gave him a new Polo and a Northface fleece (thank god it fit!) and the big present my parents gave him was a lacrosse goal. How cool. He got some fun other things that he really seemed to like, good times, good boy, he knows how to play it. The next morning, we wake up bright and early (there is a whole story I'm skipping over, but I do believe it requires an entry of it's own, so it will just have to wait) and head across the River, for the Oyster Festival!!!! Mind you, it is raining, non-stop. But we brave the weather, bundled up, and head out. But this has already gone on longer than I wanted and there is sooo much more to tell. But my father is upstairs watching, let's see, 7:07PM, he's watching Jeopardy, so I'm gonna go kick his hiney and answer, let's see, it's not a College week or Celebrity week, so I'll average about 2 questions correct.

PS: Tomorrow LSL, Pav, and I are headed to the information session for Junior League. Anyone else going?!?!

PPS: I'll post pictures later!!!

hump day

I feel like I can't complain that it's ONLY Wednesday. Had Monday and Tuesday as work days and I think I'll be peacing out early Friday morning to spend the weekend at the Rivah with the fam. BUT last week was sooo long, I worked all day Saturday and Sunday at the toy store, on top of cleaning the entirety of my old house. Then I spent all day Monday unpacking at home and yesterday at school. AND I think I may have bronchitis. Bitch Bitch whine whine... I'm sorry. I've wanted to hang out with people, been feeling kinda lonely lately, but I'm just so tired at the end of the day and just want to sit down with my feet up and chill at my house. I'm so lazy lately!!!!

PS: I LOVE THE TREES!!!!!!!!!!!