Flashback Tuesday

Most of my childhood was spent being a part of the Summer Grove Baptist Church youth group. Therefore, most of my Flashback Tuesday photos include myself on some sort of church event whether it be a Choir Tour, Youth Camp, Disciple Now, Church Prom or whatever. So, today's FB Tuesday features a Choir Tour:

I'm a little disappointed that Jen Herron's head was cut out here. I'd also like to point out that my brother is in this photo if you didn't recognize him. Also LJ. :) This was one of those Choir Tours where we went around to prisons and sang about the Apostle's Creed and stuff. We weren't allowed to wear our shirts tucked in because of the fear of prisoners ogling us (like they weren't going to do that anyway. I mean, look how hot we were!)

Now, this next photo, I have no idea where it is. Perhaps at a Phase 10 tournament?

Nice Texas Tuxedo down front. Anyway, there is really no telling what is going on here, I am only thankful that my outfit is completely blocked out because I feel that it would be very unfortunate. Oh, and please take note of Mark there in the back looking like he is having a blast! Don't you just love FB Tuesday?

It's That Time of the Year Again!

Approximately three or four times a year, my lifelong friend Laura (or LJ for those of you who grew up with her) cleans out her closet. This is always exciting for me because we are exactly the same size. Once we were asked: "Are y'all sisters? Because y'all sho favor?" from a 300 lb black nurse at a hospital. So, it's a treat for me since she is nice enough to let me sift through it all before she donates it to Goodwill!

Laura has a semi-shopping problem in that I think she is a sucker for sales. Every time I open the bags full of clothes, there are two and sometimes three of the same item, but with a different pattern or color. This makes me believe that she always falls for the 'Buy one get one free' or 'Get two for $10' sales. Also, there are frequently items that still have the tags on them, or that have only been worn once. So yesterday she dropped off three gigantic bags:

My roommate Nancy and I squealed with delight! We get so excited about free clothes!!! So, we immediately dive into the bags and separate into three piles:

1. Kate

2. Nancy

3. Donate

After we are done separating, then we proclaim 'FASHION SHOW!!!!' and turn on some Ace of Base and strut throughout the living room. We try everything on and then whatever doesn't fit or looks wonky gets thrown into the #3 pile. Then we take all #3's to the Providence House green bins around town or Goodwill. Last night, Nancy scored a bunch of cute stuff, and I got a couple of different tops. Sometimes the stuff works, and sometimes it doesn't, but it is ALWAYS a treat when Laura comes by! I love any reason for brushing up on 'The Sign' lyrics.

Being A Bridesmaid

To me, there isn't a greater honor than a friend inviting you to be in her wedding, especially as a bridesmaid. I know that a lot of people groan and complain about it, but really, they feel good inside because they beat out so many other people that they thought would be picked and eventually weren't. Suckas! Anyway, my dear friend Laura has asked me to be a bridesmaid in her upcoming nuptials to her fiance, Marcus. The happy couple:

Nothing says true love like people in drag! So anyway, the last couple of weeks she has been on the bridesmaid's dress search which, that itself is enough to make any bridesmaid concerned. A bridesmaid's dress makes it or breaks it for the wedding experience of said bridesmaid. If they are uncomfortable or hate their dress, then they are pissed the whole time and sit around complaining about it to anyone with ears.

So, imagine my delight when an absolutely amazing dress was chosen for the bridesmaids!!! I mean, seriously, gorgeous. I may, actually, wear it again. No really. I know you don't believe me, but I really will. And it was a decent price! Whew.

Now that I don't worry about wearing something God-awful, my next worry consists of the same feeling that Bridesmaid #5 feels in her friend's wedding photos:

Bless her heart! I know what she is feeling, because this is about to be me in this wedding. Laura's other bridesmaids are all practically runway models who prefer 'blah' over savory OR sweet. I lost my personal runway model status after high school when I forgot where the gym was located and discovered Better Cheddars.

So, I have decided to enroll myself in Bridesmaid Boot Camp stat! I refuse to be the fat bridesmaid. My new diet consists of juice, water, cottage cheese, fish (not fried) and celery. If you catch me consuming anything that isn't on that list, punch me in the face. Please.

Flashback Tuesday

Readers, feast your eyes upon this little gem:

Please excuse the picture quality. Above is a little moment captured on film of my Senior Party. All of my friends at church and our mothers decided to throw us each a themed party for our last hoorahs. Mine was "Clue?" themed and was an absolute blast. We all went scavenger hunting all over town searching for mysterious envelopes in the pouring rain. Sigh. Good times.

PS. If you were wondering, in the photo is myself, Rebecca Dufrene Bogan, Laura Jo Caldwell, Krystalynn Culbertson Barre, Brittany Sanders, Jennifer Thompson Winterrowd, Katherine Ketchum-?????, and Leslie Elliott Procell.

Good Food, Good Friends

This weekend we celebrated the births of two dear friends Laura and Stephanie. We started the evening not getting the memo about a revised reservation time, so John and I show up a little early (I'm ALWAYS punctual) at 645 for dinner at the Cub and wait. And wait. And wait. Then we were told that the time had changed so we waited some more. At 752 we were finally seated.

John and I had the pleasure of sitting at a cozy booth with Amy and David Netherton, parents of birthday girl #2. Let me just say that I had the best time chatting them up about God only knows what (now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure that David told us a story about "Shaking Baby Syndrome" and how he used to deal with his children). The food was excellent. I had my first taste of a new favorite: Soft-shelled crab. Delish! Once dinner was devoured, we moved on to Tiki Tavern, Hangout Extraordinaire, for some karaoke:

I'm pretty sure that was a rendition of "Fancy" by THE one and only Reba McIntyre. When we got to Tiki, another group of my friends was there as well, celebrating the birth of Travis Hart (pictured below). Birthdays all around! So we got to see these friends as well as the ones mentioned above:

Travis and I discussed the changes in the oil and gas business, Carie and I discussed possible new job options, Melissa and I discussed people with missing fingers, and Casey and I discussed John and how precious he is in photos.

The evening was an interesting one, that's for sure. I got to hear John and his roommate Rex sing "The American Trilogy" by Elvis (John is apparently, in prayer):

Then I got to hear John petition everyone to make it the new National Anthem. What a doll! Let's just say that we had a great time. Once again, Tiki Tavern teaches us a valuable lesson about life as well as song lyrics.

Things That Happened That Shouldn't Have

Well tennis was an adventure, that's for sure. We went to retrieve our rackets, only to find out that, of course, they weren't where John said they were. So what did we do? Made a trip to Wal-Mart of course. JUST where I want to go at 7PM on a weekday. Surprisingly it wasn't slammed so I picked out my Maria Sharapova racket and went on my merry way.

(On a more interesting and exciting note, between the journey for rackets and the purchasing of rackets, I got a call that one of my best friends in the whole wide world got engaged!!! Congrats Laura!!!!! And Happy Birthday tomorrow.)

We get to the courts and do our stretching and prepare to battle. John:

A closeup for the ladies (he's super excited because he got a brand new Roger Federer racket):

So we got to it. We hit it back and forth to each other to warm up. I practiced my Anna Kournikova backhand, was running back and forth, fetching the balls, trying not to die, etc. All in all we 'played' for about 15 minutes before I couldn't take it anymore. My knee started hurting and here I am now:

Great. My knee is swollen and I probably burned 50 calories. Also, don't judge me. Yes, I AM that white. And my camera flash is powerful.

Things That Are Awesome!

Say hello everyone to the newest love of my life:

THE CUB BURGER!

Beginning about a month or so ago, The Cub (home of the best steak in the world as well as the best au gratin potatoes) started offering Burgers on the Patio Wednesdays.

I heard about this from someone on Facebook and decided that it was up to me to figure out if the burgers were as good as the steak. So my friend Mark (Thanks for the photo), Laura and I checked it out today. Those burgers are super delicious! And they are super cheap! For $7 (not including tip) you can get a dressed burger, chips, baked beans and a beverage (soda, though I saw SEVERAL people there with beers... which makes me think to self: "What do these people do for a living to where their employer allows them to drink on the job?" followed up with, "Must be nice!"). To me, that is a deal! Plus, you get to sit on the patio with a nice breeze, friends and regulars that you are sure to have seen at the Cub during any regular evening.