Maturity.

Sexual maturity, that is. Dutch's, to be precise.

I just noticed him getting a little too friendly with his little nemesis wrestling stuffed animal.

He is going to be neutered and micro chipped next Friday. I guess his little red elephant friend will just have to.... be strong.

Teacher!

UUm. Um.....Uh, uh, uh.....

I AM TEACHING A COLLEGE CLASS TOMORROW.
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Uh......

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WHAT!!!?!!!
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Yeah. I'm pretty nervous/terrified/thrilled/excited.

I will report back.

Paint Job, Completed.

Well folks, other than the one wall I ran out of paint for, I painted the entire house (minus laundry room and closets) in one week!

First though, here is a picture of my own little sphynx!

Our bedroom!

The living room!

The office, and the project for the last day or so-- our new desk!

I still have work to do, clearly. Lots to hang and organize. And... eventually a chair!

Another bedroom picture.

And finally, Dutch hoping to go outside.

Dutch begging to go out and play!

If you happen to think I'm cruel for not letting him out, let me just say that he is on drugs right now for allergies, and going out is NOT helping them, so I feel, yet again,
fortified in my choice to keep him indoors.

Anyway, there are all the pretty colors of my house! YAY! It is ALL painted, and aside from a few touch ups it needs, it's great! I'm finished! YAY! And with a day or two to spare before school begins!

More soon!

Of All the Millions of People!

CRAZY!

So I'm watching the Today Show, as usual, and they are doing this little Olympic Montagey thing. And they're showing all these inspirational moments and stuff, and I see this dude holding a flag, and I think "hey that looks like Peter!"

And then I rewind it (thank you, DirecTV, for our free DVR upgrade!) and IT IS! One of TWO people I know at the Olympics and there he is on my TV! INSANITY! I got so excited! I was sitting there jumping up saying "That's Peter! That's Peter!"

Anyway, I'll try to find that montage online but really, I've got it paused on my TV and it IS Peter!

This Pilgrim's Progress.

Hi all,

Today I meet with one of my professors who I'll be working with for my Assistantship. I'm looking forward to it!

Also, I'm gettin my hur did! WOOO! I haven't had a cut or color since APRIL. Yeah, APRIL. I have missed it! I'll take pictures. It'll probably look exactly the same, but my brain will be glowing :)

I have, in the last three days: 1. Painted the guest room. 2. Painted the bedroom. 3. Painted the living room. 4. Started assembling the desk!

I hope to finish up the desk today and get the Office into decent shape so I can finally take pictures so you can see the fruits de mon labor! I ran out of paint in the entryway and I just need enough for one more coat of paint. I'll get that today and finish it off! And then, I'll be done! Like, really! WOW! Other than the second coat in the hallway, I painted my entire house (except inside closets and the Laundry/Dutch room) in a week! I'm so glad it is done!

Alright, I'm going to babysit Zachary (Amy's baby) for a few hours. I hope you all have great Thursdays, and I'll check back in when I have pictures, or exciting things to share about hair or job or life! Heh.

(PS> Have you considered coming to visit me over labor day? You haven't? Well friends, you better check flight prices! I'll be here, and so will my lovely painted house, and my silly kitten, just waiting to receive you!)

Pictures from the Middle East.

Matthew sent me the following pictures. I think you'll find them interesting!

This is us the night he left.

This is the Starbuck's in Kuwait.
Someone, somewhere, is writing their dissertation about this picture.

That hat is called a booney hat.

This is out Batallion's sign. We are 1st of the 502nd Infantry Regiment,
Second Brigade Combat team. We are in the Striker Brigade, Strike Batallion. That Eagle Talon is the symbol for our BN.

Geared up.
That black thing on the front of his helmet is a mount for his night vision.

Aw, his bed! Check out that KU Jayhawk's throw- enough to make any Teter proud!

That is an MRAP. Min Resistant Ambush Protected truck.

Matthew and his humvee.

His office!

So folks, there you have some pictures from my boyfriend! Hope you enjoyed them! He is super busy right now, but still loves getting e-mails and letters, so don't stop!

Visit From My Mommy!

I picked her up at the Nashville airport, we had dinner on the way back, and as soon as she got in the house and had unzipped her suitcase, Dutch made himself at home :)

We did lots of fun things, including a shopping day in Nashville, looking at furniture, and picking out paint colors (the fruit of which you're witnessing daily!).

Over the weekend we made the 4.5 hour trip down to see Mimi in Alabama! We went in to town to get Mimi something at the drug store, and I had to show you all the old fashioned snack bar inside the drug store.

The Pig! Whence all good things come.

Except these things: this is various pickled things, including eggs, which just makes me want to totally vomit right now.... you don't see those in every grocery store!

Mmm Beverly's BBQ, SO delicious. It is a must every time we got to Mimi's. Also, I love it because Mimi says "Bahbeecue" and it is cute.

Note that: UNSweet Tea. I just love that the lingo is Unsweet, not non-sweet, no sugar, or...regular.

America! ____ yeah!

The town hall- I was too lazy to get out of the car,
so please forgive me for the poorly framed picture.

My Uncle Doug! Sitting in what was historically "Papa's chair"- my grandfather's. Word has it Mimi is getting herself a new chair, a more comfortable one.

My Aunt Jeanie and Mimi.

Aw! Jeanie, Doug, Ma, Mimi.

Yay! Me, Mimi, Jeanie, Doug!

Here are a few pictures around Mimi's house. This please is such a wonderful world, so full of all good memories and happy feelings.

This is the house- I LOVE the black shudders, and also I'll say that the left part (Left of the door) was added on later in my mom's life, but for the most part, this is where my Ma grew up.

Mimi's Buick, and my cousin Will's little mustang. He is probably flying RIGHT NOW to be stationed in Okinawa for 18 months with the Air Force.

This used to be the most fab swing set. I have great memories of swinging on this with cousines, siblings, aunts... sigh. It has gone the way of all things.

Behind where I am standing to take this picture there is the best fig tree ever,
and also where the corn and blueberries used to grow.

The porch. Ma watering.

The kitchen. THis was here back in the day, and the little table to the right is where my mom and her three sibs sat and ate and tortured eachother. Again, lots of great memories for me too.

The "blue" room.

Mimi and Papa's room.

The little back room. I took a few turns sleeping here over the years.
At times there were two dozen people sleeping in this house.

This room was usually where all the grandkids slept on blankets. The bed and couch priority went to the oldest kids, and since I'm the youngest grandkiddy, I rarely got a couch :) Until everyone was married, and then, well, I did!

This is the "green" room. I guess we identify the rooms by their accent colors.
This one, oddly enough, is green!

My Uncle Joe, and Mimi.

Aunt Cindy.

Uncle Joe and Aunt Cindy at dinner (for Matthew and my 1st Anniversary)

Me and Ma!

Me, Ma, and Mimi!

Ok, now, prepare yourselves to be grossed out.

This is cracklin bread. Cracklin bread is cornbread with cracklins in it. Cracklins are fried pig skin. Yeah. Yeah.

A childhood treat/comfort was cracklin bread and buttermilk.

Buttermilk with Cracklin bread IN it.

She LOVES it. She only eats it in Alabama.
I did try it, after all these years of wondering, and it was even grosser than I had imagined!

My mom wanted a few pictures of her and her mommy's hands.

And so, we had a great time in Alabama.

When we got back, Dutch was all too happy to be played with and loved on. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to Leslie and Heather for checking in on the little beastus!

(in this one, he is dead asleep!)

Ok, so, there you have it! I know, I know, not a lot of detail, but just be glad that I have posted about it! It's so easy to fall behind! It was SO wonderful to have my mom here, and it was HORRIBLE to say goodbye. I am really glad that she came, and the timing could not have been more perfect. I am so glad it was a few weeks after Matthew left so I already had a routine to get into after she left- I think had I not, the goodbye would have been EVEN worse.

I love you Mom, thank you for making the trip out here!