The Aftermath

Day #128:

I had the honor of going down to Hackleburg to try and help with some relief efforts today. Our goal was to take breakfast to all those poor people trying to clean up. We didn't have much luck feeding them, but volunteered and wound up working at one of the aid stations, sorting and seperating, loading and unloading all of the donations. It was AWESOME to see how many people, who didn't even know anybody there, come out and just help. There was a busload from Michigan who heard the news, loaded up a BUNCH of stuff and drove down to help. How great is that?! Nobody had to pay anybody, everybody just did it. Our state is hurting and people need help. So glad we didn't have to wait around for someone to say Go. Everyone just went.

We may've seen the most of the storms, but we definitely saw the best in people. :0)

Happy Wedding Day!!!!

Day #127:

Well what else would it be?! Wills and Kate got married today!!! We needed a little sunshine after all the rain!!! I got up at 3am, Matt and Meredith said it'd be another 2 hours, I went back to sleep, got up at 5am and we'd gotten preempted due to the storm damage. No worries, Piers Morgan and Anderson Cooper are catching me up tonight. How awesome is this fairy tale? Even better, how awesome is it that ALL of England was so happy and everyone united to see thier Royal couple. You couldn't get all of AMerica to get excited about the same thing for anything. We'd have left wing nuts and right wing nuts and all sorts of crazies protesting something. Not those Englanders. They get weddings right. John Adams would probably be rolling over in his grave if he knew how fascinated Americans were with the Royal family considering he and the founding fathers worked so hard to get us away from that, but you can't help but get excited. How cute are they and how fabulous is it that Kate got to marry her prince?! It's every girls dream! And my most favorite nod they gave to Princess Diana? When Kate said her vows, she left out "Obey". Apparently that was the one thing she went to battle with the royals about at her wedding... and she won. That's awesome. :0)

The Storms

Days #125 & #126:

Well, I think it's pretty obvious where those two days went. I've had no internet. I'm the lucky one. SO many people were not as fortunate. What a storm. Unlike most people at work, I LOVE storms. The more wind, lighting, rain, and darkness, the better. I think storms are fabulous. Maybe I'm weird (okay, definitely I'm weird) but I also think it shows the AWESOME power of God. He can snap those bazillion year old oak trees like a toothpick. Thus, when the storm began, Chef and I ran to the Tower. Not the safest place mind you, but definitely the best view. :0)

Icelandic Glacial H2O

Days #123 & #124:

Yesterday, I had the greatest most wonderful water in the entire world. Yep, really. Evian has nothing on this stuff. Our Bud reps are REALLY trying to butter up Chef and brought him a case of Icelandic Glacial water. Guess what it tastes like?! Water. Ha! Yep, just plain water. But my pal was so excited to have water from the homeland, that we all toasted and opened it up, and truly expected to have it taste like something completely different than WATER. It was funny. This is Ryan showing his "I'm-so-happy-to-have-Icelandic-water-and-be-on-your-blog" face. Chef and I decided we would now be divas and only drink Icelandic Glacial water. And after that runs out, I assured him I'd just refill my bottle with regular tap water.

Today, I started the morning with a call to my one and only Grandma. She was hilarious. Definitely the best way to start the day. :0)

My Fam :0)

Day #122:

Oh my, what an Easter. This is one of those holidays where attendance is mandatory at Gran's house. We had a blast. Not sure what orders these pics will post in, so I'm going to explain from top to bottom. First, we have the fireboard. With a family our size, we utilize all of the seating available. Here, we have Cynthia, Aunt Brenda, Sister, and Rog. Next we have Rog helping hide Easter eggs. I thought that was pretty inventive. He did that all by himself. Next we have Jodie and Kimberly, chillaxin on the couch, then Me and Karen, posing in the sunlight. The next three are hilarious. We were trying to get family photos. We do this at just about every holiday. The kids plus Grandma. WELL, the first picture is the brothers and sisters. The boys, of course, are pinching and torturing the sisters. The second is a pic of them figuring out they FORGOT the most important person in the picture, GRANDMA! The last is them finally all together and actually smiling and looking at the camera. The final shot is one of the cousins. It didn't take us nearly as long to all get together and pose. Go figure. What a great day. I love these people. :0)

Goodbye EARL!

Day #121:
Today I noticed the memory is an amazing gift God gave us and when triggered, you can't help but smile at some things. For instance, today as I was driving to the mall, I was flipping around on the radio and heard the song "Goodbye Earl". This made me laugh becuase it made me think of my mom. She bought me the cassette tape when it first came out. We loved this song. Mainly because she said if my husband ever hit me, she would kill him. She would feed him poisioned black-eyed peas and dump his body in the lake... Like the chicks in the song. It was great. And a really funny song. :0)

The Icelandic News

Day #120:

This has been my greatest source of entertainment since yesterday.
Chef brought me back 4 Icelandic newspapers (and a chocolate bar). Unfortuantely, we were too busy to start lessons today... that will come next week. However, this has been my favorite newspaper. I asked him if it was their version of the National Enquirer. He said no, even though it looks like it. Charlie Sheen is inside which we both found hysterical. Dr. Phil, Miley Cyrus, and Hugh Hefner are in there too. I'm working on learning the alphabet, but it is HARD. Don't ever be fooled, English IS the easiest language to learn. Chef said so and he knows some French, German and of course if fluent in Icelandic and English. Icelandic has masculine and feminine words and sounds I can't even pronounce. You can find "Learn Spanish" programs EVERYWHERE, but sadly, No "Learn Icelandic" stuff. Granted there are only about 300,000 people in the world that actually speak the language. It's definitely going to be a while before there are 300,001. :0)

J Low

Day #119:

Another one of our birds is leaving the nest. This is my buddy, J Low. He's awesome. He started out at the front desk, then moved up to HR Generalist. No matter the position, he was awesome. Truly one of the funniest guys I know. It took a long time for me to get a picture of him just smiling and standing. Normally, he's striking a hilarious pose. Anyway, he's moving to Mobile to work at the Grand Hotel and be the HR Manager. We will definitely miss him. He comes and visits me and Chef every mornining. We couldn't start a morning without him. NOw, we'll just have to call him over breakfast. So sad. Speaking of Chef, my FAVORiTE Icelandic roomie was back today! Man, I missed him. He's hilarious. And he remembered to bring back my Icelandic newspapers. He went above and beyond too. He brought me 4. Tomorrow, we start learning how to actually read the Icelandic. Should be fun! :0)

PS Oh yeah, Phyllis, here's my new short hair. It really feels shorter than it looks in this pic. lol :0)

un-Holy Sugar!

Days #117 & #188:

Don't really remember yesterday. Worked, came home. That was about it. I talked to Grandma on the way to work and she was pretty funny, so I guess that was the hi-lite.

Tonight, I noticed that it is NEVER a good idea to give 2nd graders cupcakes. Ever. Becky and I decided to do a class fellowship tonight. Holy cow. Normally we notice when things are about to get out of hand, however, we didn't see it coming, and the pizza, chips, dips, Hawaiian Punch, and cupcakes sugar all combined to an explosion of complete craziness and chaos. Two of our darling children were running around the room with icing ALL OVER their hands, pretending they were ET. Becky and I stood amazed. Eventually their mothers came in and it still took them threatening them within an inch of their lives before they'd go wash thier hands. It was insane. Tonight, my sanity lies in the fact that Chef comes back to work tomorrow. Yay. :0)

Who Got a Present Today at Work? Meeeeeee!

Day #116:

So I was meeting with my favorite paper guy Aubrey today and when I came back into the office there was a HUGE package and guess what! It had MY name on it. How cool is that?! Everyone was very interested. It said FRAGILE and was from Aunt Ila Vee so I knew it was going to be something very cool. I was right. How awesome is this?! Even better, there's one for Gran as well! And even better than that... I get to give it to her at Easter (when all of the cousins are there to be totally jealous)! hahahahahahaa. Can't wait for the weekend. :0)

What a Weekend!

Day #113-115:

Well, let's see if I can fill you in on my ever exciting weekend. Friday, I bought a new vaccuum. That's the first one I've ever bought in my life. We've been using one we've had since I was probably... 8. YEah, it was time. I felt incredibly grown up making that purchase. Who knew there were so many options?! I landed on a Dirt Devil. It is AWESOME. I felt as though after vaccuuming all of our carpet that I should go next door and continue the process. I was just about ready to go and vaccuum the entire trailer park.

Saturday, I slept in (which I never really get to do) so that was fantastic. Then I went shopping. Bro. Jeff and I share the same outlook on shopping. If you buy in the off season, you may get the pickover and the worst colors, but you can get GREAT clothes for cheap. For example, I got 3 sweaters for $4.97 a piece. I also got the CUTEST new dress for 60% off.

Today, the kids were relatively good. I noticed that the threat of telling them I'm going to tell Bro. Matt that they are disbehaving is just as effictive as the threat of Bro. Alex. I also noticed that the move to Grace Life has been the BEST move I have ever made. Wish I'd done it years ago. My church family is the greatest around. Along those lines, I am so grateful to have Bro. David as my friend and mentor. None of you know him, but he's a great guy.

That's it. That was the weekend. This week - I'm in survival mode until Thursday. That's when my Icelandic office roomie gets back. I've missed that guy. :0)

Bouncing off the Walls and Becoming Bilingual..

Days #111 & 112: Lonely... I am so lonely.... I have nobody.... at the end of the hallllllllllllllllllllllllllll. Both of my bosses are gone this week. Bowz is at the happiest place on earth, aka Disney World. Chef is at his happiest place on earth, his parent's house in Iceland. I'm home. Alone. Going insane. However, I have come to notice that the internet is a wonderful thing. Chef and I have exchanged a few emails back and forth. When he's away, ours tend to be rather funny. This morning, I ended up laughing hysterically for about 10 minutes. I can't share all the details to protect the innocent, but let's just say he's teaching me a little more Icelandic so that I will be well equipped to deal with those people at work that will absolutely drive a person insane. It was great. Can't wait for that fellow to get back. He's bringing me an Icelandic newspaper this time around (pending he doesn't forget) and I'm sure lots of good stories. :0)

Amish, Shoes and Mad Crazy Skills

Days #109 & 110: Sister and I drove up to Somerset, KY last night. When we passed through Lawrenceburg, TN we were (as always) on the lookout for the cute little Amish guys driving their buggies. I LOVE those guys. It was raining cats and dogs, so none were out, but we did see some bales of hay on the side of the road. Out of the blue, Sister says, "See that hay? That's an Amish gas station. Get it?" Hilarious. Didn't expect that from an accountant. It was awesome. Today, Cousin came down and met us for brunch before the funeral. Again, it was raining Biblical proportions. We had to go get some scissors so she could fix her flower arrangement. It was a good thing because I needed some duct tape to fix my shoe. I have a fabulous pair of black boots that I got for incredible cheap and have worn out. Seriously. There is a hole in the bottom of the shoe that I have worn clear to my foot. It's not too big of a bother, but when it rains, my foot gets wet. It was wearing a hole in my sock one day at work too when I was walking on the concrete, so I have found if I put duct tape over the hole, it works just perfectly. SO, we went, got duct tape and a sock. Fixed them right up. I say all this only because I'm pretty sure Buddy would've gotten a kick out of it. It was so perfect for me to be fixing my shoe with duct tape on the day of his funeral. I'm confident he would have had some colorful words and would've never let me live it down. THAT I will miss the most. He shared my wacky, crazy sense of humor and could absolutely crack me up at any given moment. We were equally as crazy about each other. I'm sure he laughed a little today as he saw us trying to do shoe repair in the Wal Mart parking lot. On the way home, I also highly impressed Sister with my mad crazy skill of being able to completely change my wardrobe while driving down the interstate at 80 mph. I perfected that skill a long time ago.

Sad, Happy and Everything in Between

Days #105-108: It's been a rollercoaster since Thursday. Chef and I had lunch on Thursday. That was fun as always. Friday I moved pool furniture and absolutley roasted in the sunshine. I also learned that one of the absolute sweetest and funniest members of the Myers clan passed away. Our dear Buddy is finally at rest. Good for him, sad for us. Tomorrow the blog will once again be on hiatus because after work we'll be driving up to Somerset, KY. Saturday morning was back up to lots of fun. Went to breakfast with the pals from school. It was great fun. Then I spent the rest of the afternoon on the front porch with Grandma. Then today, all of our kids were gone on Spring Break but 3 of them and we had one visitor. There are hilarious stories that will be told at a later date. Gotta roll. :0)

Funny funny funny

Days #102 & 103:

Yesterday, I noticed that you can find fun in any simple moment. For example, we now only have 1 color copier at work and when something needs to be printed, I have to walk across the street to print it. That's fine most of the time, because it's only healthy to get out, but when you have to reprint it because something messed up, or when it's raining or FREEZING or ROASTING outside, it's a bit annoying. Yesterday was one of those days where I had to make two trips. I caught a ride on the golf cart with Mike. Great timing. That was fun. Then, lo and behold, I caught a ride back in the van with Travis. Travis is where I learned to make things fun. I made him give me the 10 cent tour from the Conference Center to the front door. We made up ridiculous facts and I asked him the most outlandish questions. We ended up laughing hysterically. With a story like this, yes, it is possibly to find the funny in any situation.

Today, I noticed that we are all VERY different creatures in this world and THAT is what makes it so awesome. This dude was standing in front of me in Wal Mart. Still can't figure out what his strategy was with these tats. He obviously loves his cartoons. He had Bugs Bunny, some guy that almost resembled Secret Squirrel and the big orange hairy thing from the Bugs Bunny cartoons on his right leg. Still not sure what these fellows on his left leg are. I think they are either Chinese soldiers or nutcrackers. Then he had something else on his neck creeping out from under his shirt. I couldn't snap a pic of that without looking totally obvious to his wife. We all need things that make us happy. Apparently for this big guy, it's the retro cartoons. :0)

My Guys

Day #101: Today I noticed that just by talking to Bowser and Chef, I crack up. I also noticed women are WAY more observant than men. Girls always notice a new haircut. Men, not so much. 2nd Best Conversation of the Day: Bowser walks in and asks "Did you cut your hair?" "No, why?" I answer (not the least bit sarcastically). "Oh..." He looks really serious and thinks hard. "It looks shorter." Yeah... I cut off 8 inches Saturday. Men. 1st Best Conversation of the Day: Chef explaining the meaning of "Humdinger". Between that and his frequent use of the phrase "Willy Nilly" I'm starting to think he's losing his Icelandicism. It is my fault that he says "Big 'ole" and "Honkin" when describing something large. We also always say, "Bless his/her heart" when talking about someone. Because we all know that that phrase will null and void everything bad that you say about someone. However, I did not teach him "Willy Nilly". He picked that one up on his own and it absolutely cracks me up.

Hair and Meds

Days #99 and #100:

Can you believe we are already to day 100? Crazy. Yesterday, I noticed that it's getting less and less difficult for me to chop off 8 inches of hair knowing that it's going to some bald kid that needs it. I used to have to psych myself up, but now, it makes me incredibly happy knowing that someone I will probably never know in my life, will feel better about themselves because somebody will make a wig out of my hair and they will get it. That's awesome. OH, and in case you ever feel the notion to chop off 8 inches, don't donate to Locks of Love. They charge for their wigs. Children with Hairloss is the way to go. They make wigs and give them to the kids for free. Anyway, that was yesterday. TOdAY, I still don't feel better, and the only pic I have is of cough medicine that Cynthia sent up. Sista has returned from Spring vaca and the la hacienda is no longer compeletely silent. I finally have somebody to talk to other than myself. I guess that's it. :0)

ALWAYS Look on the Bright Side of Life

Days #97 & 98: Yesterday, I noticed nothing other than yes, I do indeed have the Hungarian Flu. Not really, but I do have some major coughage going on, a sore throat, and a killer headache so I'm assuming it all has something to do with the wacky weather and ridiculous pollen. Today, a bit better though and it was another fabulous day spent with my Chef. Today, I noticed that every day of life needs a killer soundtrack. Ever seen Spamalot? It's FANTASTIC! Sister bought me tickets for my birthday last year when it came to Huntsville. So today, when Chef could only remember the chorus, I was able to fill in the verses. See, my friends, THIS is why we have the coolest office at the Hotel. It's how we roll. And when Ryan came in griping about something that had happened earlier in the day, we were able to perform a stunning rendition of the hit Broadway Musical. I'm not quite sure he found it as funny as we did, but it cracked us up ALL AFTERNOON. I have also insisted for years that this be sung at my funeral, as a sing-along. So for any of you planning on coming to my funeral, you better make sure this happens. Otherwise, I will come back and haunt your cabinets, eat your food, and then stand at the foot of your bed sining this song ALL NIGHT LONG, like in the movie Ghost. :0)