who doesn't love cookies?

man, i love a long weekend! even it involved doing some cleaning with the hubs, and watching while he tried to blow his car up....thankfully, that part didn't happen.

now come tuesday...i'm asking you guys for a favor. but it's not for me.

it's for this gorgeous girl, my internet bestie, the ever so lovely ashley. she's been taking a break from the blogosphere to be a kickass mama to that OTHER gorgeous girl you see, my "niece" delaney!! so not only is this supermom BEING supermom...she's also working, and running a side business doing the wedding design stuff she loves...oh yeah, and being an amazing niece herself.

see, her aunt was hit by a drunk driver earlier this month, and just got out of the ICU thank goodness!! BUT her injuries will mean a big pile o' medical bills...and that's never fun for anyone. cuz bills suck.

so my girl has decided to help her  "other mother" out by turning her etsy shop into the tree the keebler elves live in.

k, maybe not EXACTLY that, but she is selling one or 2 dozen fresh, homemade sugar cookies, and ALL of the money will go toward her aunt karen.

so go buy cookies. because cookies are delish. and because ashley is amazing, so be amazing for her too, k?

guess who doesn't know what season it is?

i know the calendar and the people at the weather channel or whatever allege that summer doesn't start until next month.

too bad it's been at least 90 degrees here every day for a solid 2 weeks. cuz i hate to break it to mother nature....but above 80? SUMMER. not spring.

so what does your favorite southern redhead do when the mercury is rising and she's sweating like a whore in church just walking out the front door?

buy things for fall and winter of course!!

technically...i did not buy this exact sweater. i got this sweatery one in a bright purple....for $4. its cotton tshirt material cousin came home with me in black...for $3.

see, old navy might be having a sale where all their clearance items in store are an extra 50% off...and i MIGHT have gone a little nutso.

BUT $7 FOR TWO CARDIGANS?! i can't even get two lattes for that price...plus, the sweaters don't give me the shakes like 2 lattes would.

this beauty in black is now sitting in my closet. i might have done a little twirling for the hubs when u brought it home yesterday...cuz she's so pretty!! and she's so classic, just a black trench.

EXCEPT I PAID EIGHT DOLLARS FOR IT.

i literally cannot wait to wear this jacket....and maaayyyyyybbbbeeee tell everyone that compliments me on it that i got it for $8.  cuz that's how i roll.

i also got a black tab-sleeve tee, 2 scarves, a pair of slouchy linen cargo cropped pants and 4 glitter gift bags.

all for $38.

the 50% off clearance sale goes through sunday...so please someone else go get some pretties for cheap...so i can tell the hubs it's NOT just me who can't resist a sale =)

i'm totally gonna get my hulk on

first off...let me say, that even though the hubs got a surround sound system for HIS birthday....everybody wins with it in the house!!

glee finale in surround sound? AMAZING. i intend to force the dude to watch the sugarland concert dvd with me, while i geek out and sing along.

but he also got some other stuff for getting old...some home depot cards from my parents and sister, so i'm sure there will be a trip to the good 'ol depot in my future.

but more importantly...now we have in our possession the greatest invention ever...or at least the greatest one to provide me with entertainment and keep our inside recycling bin from overflowing...

THE CAN CRUSHERRRRRRRRRR!!!!

my grandma used to have one of these on her back porch...because she lives out in the country and this make it easier to fit more cans in her trashbags that she had to haul 1/4 mile up her driveway to the road...cuz that's how she rolls in the country.

the hubs and i have been searching for MONTHS for one of these...but apparently only grandmas want them because we were out of luck...until mom and i found one in an old-school hardware store and i flipped. my. shit.

i cannot wait to crush cans. and probably yell "CAN CRUSHHERRRRRRRRR" in a deep, pro-wrestling sort of voice.

cuz that's not weird right?

he's embracing his status as a dirty old man

dear nate,

it's your BIRTHDAY!!! which means you are now 29. which means for the next 6 weeks, i get to call you grandpa because you're thisclose to 30...and i'm a spry and super fly 27.

i love you more than anything...which is how you get me to do yardwork and house projects and other things that even my family is astounded i take part in...because i love you that much.

you also have to love me a lot...because you go along with all my crazy ideas.

like the halloween we were a redneck bride and groom. that was pretty awesome.

you also take various versions of the same picture with me...and you have since the beginning.

 but most importantly...you know my heart. and you've always known it, from that first night, and that first phone call, and that first date when i knew deep down nothing would ever be the same.

you're my boo, my hubs, my everything.

enjoy 29, and all the cradle-robbing that comes with it...i hope it's just as fun when you're 99 and i'm only 97 =)

love,
me.

my neighborhood is trying to spite me

when you don't work...or even when you do work...you get used to a routine. you like things a certain way. you like doing certain things certain days, or having certain things close by.

and then sometimes, THOSE THINGS ARE SNATCHED FROM YOUR GRASP WITH NO REGARD TO YOUR MENTAL HEALTH!!!

mkay...so perhaps that's a weeee bit melodramatic...but if there's a few things you don't mess with...it's my crafts. and my books. 

and the universe is currently jacking with my chi on both accounts.

let me give you a little visual of how things are now.

i can WALK to my library in about 10 minutes. at a leisurely pace.

at least, i could...until a few weeks ago, when they informed me they'll be closed UNTIL JULY. for renovations...so allegedly it will make my library experience better then...but now? now i have to drive 15 minutes to the other side of town for free books.

bastards.

and now today, i find out they've started putting all new inventory in the new hobby lobby about 10 minutes away. NOT AT THE ONE I COULD SEE FROM MY HOUSE, IF I WERE A SQUIRREL AND UP IN A TREE.

ugh, i am not a happy homemaker. you are killing me universe, with your upgrades and messing with things!!

at the home depot is still right up the street...the hubs would have a stroke if they moved.

if i'm gone for a few days...

it's because i finally got my hands on the last 2 books of the hunger games trilogy.

i'm gonna plow through these bad boys like lindsay lohan on a coke bender.

see you ladies in rehab!

there are some disadvantages to having a man around

i love my husband.

and there are LOTS of good things about having a husband/boyfriend/main squeeze around.

you don't have to do the gross chores like taking out the trash or empty the drain strainer thingy in the sink.

loving on the regular is also a pretty sweet deal.

but sometimes, those fellas make you do things. like manual labor.

see, i've got a man who LOOOOOVES doing DIY projects, which is all fine and well and good...until i get sucked into helping.

i spent HOURS yesterday digging holes to bury those cement blocks you see. so they'd be level, so we could build a shed base on them.

i am NOT kidding when i say our yard is apparently a work of evil, and strictly made of clay and dirt powder and super glue to keep it all in one piece so anything more than a tablespoon at the time CANNOT be scooped out.

oh yeah, and it was about 89 degrees outside yesterday. NOT. FUN. TIMES.

but in the end, after i did get a little fun wielding the cordless drill,

we have this. a wooden base for an 8x10 shed that the hubs is literally peeing his pants over.

except....I HAVE TO STAIN IT FIRST. kill me now.

dude owes me some shoes for all this mess.

cuz mama needs some new neck bling

nope, not talking about my ACTUAL mama...although she loves a good necklace as much as the next super awesome 54 year old lady does...i'm talking about this mama. clearly in the "i have dogs for children and randomly say things like 'mama like'" sort of way....not in the actual "in the family" way for of thing.

see...about 3 weeks ago, i MIGHT have done a little shopping with MY mama at new york and company. and we MIGHT have gotten a coupon for $15 off $30 that's good this week.

so i MIGHT have broken the siren song of my currently beloved bracelets to do a little necklace shopping.

first up, this multi-colored beauty. i figure it will be awesome with all my brightly colored tank tops and sandals this summer when it's 14000 degrees, with 154% humidity and all i want to do is attempt some semblance of looking cute while trying to keep my face from actually MELTING. OFF.

did i mention it gets warm down here?

next up, this wooden bead and metal chain bib. i'll probably wear it longer than this...because this close to my neck? i feel like i'm choking. i think it'll give a little boho edge to some of my plain jersey dresses i live in in the summer.

or you know, again with the tanks and sandals. and the face melting.

cuz it is that hot.

can a white girl from georgia get some kind of swahili princess name? cuz that's what this necklace makes me feel like....all "coming to america" meets "the lion king".

everyone knows nala was a total lion hottie right? RIGHT.

i want to wear this all the time. i want to put a bazillion wooden bangles on my arm at the same time. i want someone to ask me about my awesome safari necklace so i can tell them i only paid $7 for it.

cuz i'm totally whatever the swahili word for "shopping queen" is.

i want to send this to every high school kid ever

as i'm relaxing last night, watching my favorite members of mckinley high's new directions (that would be ALL of them....but mostly one brittany s. pierce), i'm expecting some laughs, some tunes, some snark courtesy of santana of course...

what i'm not expecting is being close to tears. from a commercial.



i haven't seen very many things that moved me more than this commercial. if you can even call it that.

it's really just a giant hug to all the kids who feel like they don't fit in, whether they're gay or not, whether they're out or not...whether they are watching or not. it's a hug, with a teeny little blurb about google at the front and back.

and you know what? they're right. cuz high school? or middle school? it ALWAYS. GETS. BETTER.

first off....girls in middle school are TOTAL BITCHES. you couldn't pay me enough money to revisit 7th and 8th grade, without promises of allowing me to sucker punch stupid chicks talking smack without retribution. then MAYBE i'd go.

i had a fine time in high school....but i also went to a smart-kid school. when you're in a magnet program...there isn't a lot of room for the jocks to tease people...cuz they're also in drama classes with you. and making better grades in AP chemistry.

even without getting bullied, i was still a super-tall, kind of chubby girl with glasses and NO game, pining after senior boys and longing to be asked out on a date (which totally didn't happen until college, for the record).

basically...if you peaked in high school, I FEEL SORRY FOR YOU.  cuz now? now you're probably chain-smoking, coaching a kid's tee-ball team and reliving the glory days.  you're trip mcneilly.

i'm so thankful it gets better than those 6 years of my life...and i'm glad there's a group showing everyone the same thing =)

my white blood cells have failed me

normally, my stellar immune system keeps me well. my roommate freshman year in college had strep 3 times..and i never got sick.  the hubs has been sick at least 3 times a year since we've known each other...and i stay healthy.

but every year or 2...something gets me.

so i woke up yesterday feeling like this.

and i've spent the past 2 days doing this

with plenty of this

hopefully i'll be back to normal tomorrow!