Happy Way Back When-sday!!
As I was browsing through old pictures today, searching for fall-ish inspiration, I came up my veritable treasure trove of pictures from Fall Break 2006: The Cabin of Love. It would be a crime not to humiliate myself and my friends share.
Way back in October of 2006, Matt and I were not even engaged (that would happen in December, FYI). My bestie Kristina and her then-fiance James had been engaged for a few months. We decided a fun and festive Fall Vacation was in order when we had a long weekend from our grueling jobs at Wesley. Since we had no money to speak of, it was decided that we would travel to Gatlinburg, TN and spend the weekend at my family's cabin. It was without a doubt one of my most fun vacations ever. The only thing that coulda made it better was...well, ya know, being married. Nudge nudge, wink wink, ya know what I mean?? ;)
Anyway. We had a lot of fun, and lucky for you us, managed to document much of it!! Here's what it was like being on vacation with 23-year-old us:
First of all, we waste no opportunity for festive pictures. And Gatlinburg is nothing if not full of festivity. And since Kristina and I are arguably two of the more photogenic people on the face of the earth, it makes sense that we spent most of our time posing for pictures like this:
It's good we got it out of our systems then, since we'd spend most of the next year looking fabulous in each other's wedding pictures.
Never one to be out-shown in the weird department, James gets in on the photo-action:
We also spent a lot of time shopping browsing downtown. And Kristina had strong feelings about some candy displays, apparently.
And I know it's hard to believe, but we even found a WEDDING CHAPEL, appropriately named Cupid's Chapel of Love!! We exercised great self-restraint by not just pulling a double-elopement right then and there. Instead, we embraced the opportunity for more pictures.
Above, Mattie and I are practicing for our future engagement. Apparently he didn't like my reaction/feigned excitement, which is why he waited until it was like MIDNIGHT and I was laying on my DEATHBED (a few months later) to ask me.
Finally, and arguably most importantly, we ate corndogs. Not just any corndogs. The best corndogs ever. Seriously, they're worth the drive to Gatlinburg (assuming you live within a day's drive). These we ate with great exitement and much gusto. They are worth it.
Thanks for journeying back in time with us. Let me know if you want to join Matt and I for our next trip to the Cabin of Love!
(For the record, this is blog #299.75. Yep, still playing that game!)
Guess what's going on this weekend?
My 10 year high school reunion.
Guess where I am?
Here. As in...not there. Not going. I'm not going.
Me!!! The one who has been eagerly anticipating her 10-year reunion since like...5 minutes after we graduated!
I was looking forward to this night (weekend) 10 years ago. And 5 years ago. And one year ago. But then sometime in the past 6 months...since tickets actually started going on sale and we started getting 18 Facebook notifications per week regarding the reunion...I changed my mind.
In case you can't tell, I am still totally on the fence about whether I'm making the right choice. To be honest, I don't even feel like I really 'chose.' It's more like...I waffled, hemmed-and-hawwed, and debated until...until it was really too late to choose to go. Until it was today, and I found myself not driving to Augusta for the homecoming game. Until I made other plans for tomorrow, that didn't involve being at a country club in Augusta.
I have a few good reasons why I was/am reluctant to go. They're not especially good reasons...they're just some random excuses. I know I better write them down now, while they're fresh...otherwise in a year (or 5 minutes from now, when people start posting pics from the game) I'll be looking back and wondering what was I THINKING???! Why did I skip out on THAT??!
1. Facebook. And blogs, and texting, and emails, and anything else that makes keeping in touch with people pretty dang easy. My close friends from high school? I'm still friends with them. I know (more or less) what's going on in their lives. I can easily contact them in a variety of ways any time I want. We hang out sometimes. So I don't need to go to a reunion to see them.
My 'acquaintances' from HS? Well, back when Facebook started, you friended EVERYONE you'd ever known...meaning, we're all 'friends' on FB! Therefore, most of the people I 'loosely' knew in HS...I pretty much know what they're up to these days, too. I know who got married, who got divorced, who has kids, and how obsessed with their kids they are. :) Some of these acquaintances have even become more like 'real' friends, via blogging and FBing. If they were at the reunion, it would probably be fun to see them. However, judging by the RSVPs...not many of them will be.
And all the other people? The people I knew 'of,' but didn't know? The people I never knew? (I graduated with roughly 500 people)...well...not to be rude, but I don't really care that much to see them now, either. I really don't mean that to be unkind. It's just...there's nothing to really 'rekindle' or reminisce about...we'd just be strangers brushing elbows at a country club instead of in the tunnel at school.
Long story short-- Facebook has taken away the 'mystery' factor...the "I wonder what she's up to?..." factor. I don't have to go to a reunion to find out. I already know.
2. I'm socially awkward. I mean, probably not the worst you've ever met...but schmoozing at a cocktail party is really not my thing. I would definitely be the one hiding out in the corner with my husband and the 3 or 4 people I'm good friends with. And if that's all I'm going to do, then why bother paying a bunch of money to do that in the presence of a bunch of other people? We could just hang out for free somewhere else.
I'm not knocking the reunion itself. It sounds exactly like I've always envisioned a reunion would be. There's a band and everything!! It's just...I always enjoy these things more in my head than I do in real life. And even in my head, all that small talk just feels awkward.
3. Infertility. Come on. You knew I couldn't go a whole blog without mentioning it, right?? But it's true. Let's just pretend I did go. Stretch your imagination a little further and let's pretend I was actually walking around and talking to people (instead of hiding in a corner). How do you think those conversations are going to go? I'm guessing we cut to the "so do you guys want to have kids?" question in about 2.3 seconds flat. I might be able to handle that once. But 10 times? 30 times? In the presence of a bunch of girls my age, many of them sporting their 'bumps'? How long do you think it would take me to have a nervous breakdown? I'm being generous by guessing I'd last half an hour.
This scenario also leaves me hanging out in a corner (or bathroom) stall alone, this time also probably crying. Lovely.
Those are the major reasons that led me to decide that not-going was probably the best choice for me. I can definitely imagine myself majorly regretting this decision in the near future. I'm holding out major hope that it goes really well and that the class officers decide it was worth it and will start planning a 15 year one so that I have the opportunity for a re-do in the not-so-distant future.
In the meantime, I'm trying to make the weekend as un-lame as possible. So far, God seems to be on my side (and everyone's side, for that matter), since He is providing us with some FRIGGIN AWESOME FALL WEATHER for the weekend. We're talking lows (at night, of course) in the FORTIES and highs in the low SEVENTIES/high sixties!!!! This is definitely a first for the season, and a very welcome one. I look forward to watching football, spending time with friends, and enjoying a bonfire tomorrow night.
And in between all that, I'll probably be compulsively checking Facebook for reunion updates and pictures. I loved high school. I seriously can't believe I'm skipping my reunion. I think I already need to re-read this post to remember why I'm staying home...ugh!
Well hello, world...how ya been?
(2 points if you caught the Lady A reference. Anyone? Anyone? No, I'm all alone in my country music world over here? Okay, fine.)
I didn't mean to disappear like that. It's just that a) I set myself up for failure by pointing out that my next blog was going to be #300 and it had to be spectacular...how am I EVER going to decide what is spectacular enough to constitute that blog? And until I do...I can't write? This is miserable. So just tonight, in the shower, I decided that I'm pretty sure Blogger is counting several unfinished/unposted drafts in their 'official count'...and since they never posted, they shouldn't really count...so I hereby deem this my 299th and a HALF blog, with the option to later this week have a 299th and three-quarters blog, and so on. Anything to prolong my indecisiveness about #300. There you have it.
b) (did you even remember I was listing reasons I've been absent? No?)...I have a limited number of hours minutes that are not consumed by 1)commuting, 2)working, 3)changing flat tires obtained while doing #s 1 and 2, 4)Taco Tuesdays that our WHOLE FAMILY has started attending, 5)working out, or 6)sleeping. And then I made the fatal error of deciding to start reading this book:
...and if you've read it and you are human, then you understand how extremely hilarious and riveting the book is and you will agree that it is certainly the best way I could be spending my free time in the evenings. And you will also hopefully understand that Tina Fey is my hero pretty much the funniest person ever and writes this book like it's the funniest blog ever...which is why my blog-reading-and-writing has suffered. I'm sorry. Don't take it personally, but you're just not as funny as Tina. And neither am I. Although I hope to be, because I plan on copying her style and her voice. I'm sure I'm not the first blogger to come up with this idea, either.
And I'm not done with the book yet, so don't give away any surprise endings or anything...but if you've read it and feel like I do, you should tell me so that we can bond over that. And so I'll know that you understand what it's like to not want to do anything but lay on the couch and read this book with a scary cover.
So, other than being busy, eating tacos, getting flat tires, and stressing out over blog #300...nothing much new over this-a-way.
Oh. Tonight I kicked my dog. REALLY HARD. I felt really bad. She should have known better, though. I was talking on the phone and simultaneously practicing grand battements. Don't think I'm going to fail my parents by letting 13 years of ballet lessons go to waste. No way. Anyway, Lola had the nerve to walk behind me and catch the upswing of my battement. Right in the ribcage. I don't think anything is broken, although she acted like the world was ending. I can't blame her. Have you seen my calves*? I'd be scared to get kicked by them, too. So...sorry, Lola. Not really your night, hun.
Well...this is fun and all, but Tina's calling. I am still accepting ideas for my #300 blog. Make 'em good and maybe I won't have to wait another week before writing again. Goodnight and sorry there's no Way Back When-sday tonight. Consider those tidbits about ballet to be your flashback for the week. Goodnight!
*Don't think I'm being conceited. I (and every other female member of my family)'ve had extremely manly muscular calves my whole life. I'm sure the years of dancing helped them along, but then the next 12 years of not dancing and/or moving much at all didn't do anything to help them go away...so large and in charge they remain. I avoid calve (calf?? what the heck is the singular of calves??)-specific exercises like the plague, in fear that they will grow even LARGER and will be bigger than my thighs and my legs will look upside-down and I will not be able to wear pants or boots. THESE are the fears that plague me.
Yall. I am SO lacking inspiration for things to blog about! Look at this sad mess-- no blogging since Wednesday? Something must be truly wrong in my world.
I saw this on another blog and thought...well, it's better than nothing. Get to know me a bit, then we have a little more chatting to do after the a-z is done, k?
A. Age: 28
B. Bed size: queen. The perfect size, in my opinion. Not too big, not too small.
C. Chore that you hate: Scrubbing toilets and tubs. BLECH.
D. Dogs: Just one, the beloved Lola. Part lab, part greyhound,full-blooded SCAREDY PANTS.
E. Essential start to your day: Well, if you must know, the FIRST thing I do every morning is take my temperature (BBTempers, unite!) That is essential in its own special way. My more 'normal' essential, though, would be coffee, and stat.
F. Favorite color: Umm...all of them? I have a really hard time with this question.
G. Gold or Silver: Used to be always silver. Now I could go either way, probs. Usually silver, though.
H. Height: 5'7
I. Instruments you play: Guitar, piano, flute. And I've always had a sneaking suspicion I'd be an excellent drummer.
J. Job title:...I'm actually not going to put that, so as to keep myself from being so easily Googled. Trust me, it's not a common title.
L. Live: in a small town outside of Athens, Ga. In a neighborhood. We're the house with the best flowers. :)
K. Kids: None, which is the bane of my existence.
M. Mother’s name: Jacky!! Jacklyn, to be more precise. Or "sweet rabbit" if you're my dad...GAG ME.
N. Nicknames: I don't really have any. A few people still call me "Stone," which was my maiden name. That's about it.
O. Overnight hospital stays: Other than being born...I think just in 2000 when I had knee surgery.
P. Pet peeves: Too many to list; I'm easily annoyed. People who talk too much...people who offer unsolicited advice...people who spend lots of money on stupid crap like fast food and then complain that they don't have money.
Q. Quote from a movie: "I know you can be overwhelmed...and then you can be underwhelmed...but can you ever just be...whelmed?" (10 Things I Hate About You, best movie ever)
R. Right or left handed: Right. But I write like a left-handed person, if you can imagine that...because my mom, who taught me to write, is left-handed. I sort of hold my hand upside down.
S. Siblings: 2 biological siblings, Jake and Sarah. 7 siblings-in-law.
U. Underwear: Umm...yes. Preferably clean ones.
V. Vegetable you hate: Mushrooms, although those are technically 'fungi' and not vegetables.
W. What makes you run late: Nothing, really, I'm the most serially on-time person you've ever met. About the only thing that can get me off my game is the stupid TRAIN by our house, which can delay me getting onto the road that goes to Athens.
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Woohoo, x-rays! Good times. OK: teeth, elbow, knees, chest, back, hips, abdomen
Y. Yummy food that you make: Everything, really. But I'm kinda famous for my sweet potato casserole and my apple dip.
Z. Zoo animal: Elephants! Giraffes! Pandas! And the baby version of any of the aforementioned animals.
OKAY. Now that we're done with that nonsense.
This is my 299th blog! That means there's tons of pressure for my next blog (which will be the 300th, if you're not a mathematician)...any suggestions for what it should be about? You know I need help. Look at me. I'm filling out internet memes. HELP ME!!
