Our Monday in pictures and video

I like this day in pictures thing. It's easy and fills those blogs where I have writer's block.

My morning began with a wonderful surprise. I went to the mailbox and found this awesome Firefly t-shirt that I won during a facebook contest...


I was super excited about this shirt because the others that we have (that were purchased with the actual Firefly) are mens shirts and don't fit me.

Emma let Zoey in...


Emma asked me to put her "skiddies" on. I guess that is what she calls tennis shoes. I had never heard that word before. "Skiddies". Cute!


The girls had lunch...


Emma let the dog in...


We went to the pool and Caroline FINALLY decided to swim like I've been teaching her for two years. She wanted to make a video for the dot com.



I picked up Little J's for dinner. We came home, ate dinner, and I partook in drinking a wine that was bought for decorative purposes. Oops!


I cut my finger in the most terrible place ever. It is so sore. After googling the correct name for the place on my finger that was hurt, I found that it is called your eponychium. Such a fun name! Or if you are boring you can call it your cuticle.


Please excuse my fingernail. It is bitten and jagged. Gross.

After dinner and wine, it was bathtime and bedtime.

Then I watched Part 2 of the RHOC which was a train wreck and I LOVED every minute of it. I polished the evening off with a few spoonfuls of this...


Welcome to my boring life.

Monday Happiness, Randoms and Link Love

- The new OPI Shatter polish makes me super happy. The bottom coat is Keys to my Karma and then a top coat of black shatter. Love it! Anna (my sister) used a pink as her bottom coat and the silver shatter on top. Hers is super summery and very pretty.


- Two new wines that are AH-MAZING make me super happy. This weekend I discovered Country Squire Apple Orchard Riesling which is a Granny Smith Apple wine that is soooo yum-o! The other is Country Squire Knicker Dropper which is a Pomegranate wine that almost tastes like candy. So good!

- We had a date night Friday night. Date nights always make me happy especially when we eat at one of my favorites... The Flying Shamrock.

- The rain last night was wonderful and the cloudiness today has been great too! We are loving every minute of summer but we definitely needed a break from the sun.

- I am caught up with the laundry AND I'm about to clean the bathrooms. How does my house stay more together when the kids are at home all day, everyday? I'm better at picking up and cleaning when the kids aren't in preschool! So strange?!

- The Bachelorette comes on tonight. No matter how much I hate it, I can't stop watching.

- I posted a new recipe on the food blog.

- The RHOC Reunion Part One made me so happy last night. I love those bitches. They are so snide and cunning it is ridiculous and I LOVE IT! Tonight... Part Two!

- Must take pictures is on the top of my To Do's.

- Kitchen Queens is Wednesday night and I can't wait!

- Do you have any link love you would like to spread? Leave it in the comments.

I am trying to save the planet...

While others are opting for the eco friendly fuel efficient vehicles, my husband decided to trade his truck for this...


Obviously not eco friendly and obviously not fuel efficient.

So much for the Lafone family saving the planet and reducing our carbon footprint. We now have the footprint of a GIANT!

"But it's a diesel, it has better gas mileage."

Laughable.

(PS- Yes, that is my Jeep ride that I use for storage purposes.)

Morning from hell

I'm in my room with the door shut.

It is 9:30 am. (Obviously I finished this post later in the day.)

I already need a little alone time.

So far this morning...

- The dog escaped sometime while I slept.

- Found the dog waiting outside of the fence to be let back in.

- She had eaten the trash and thrown it all over the yard... the trash that my husband was suppose to carry off two days ago.

- I cleaned all of that up.

- Made my coffee.

- Emma woke and demanded juice and Nick Jr.

- I sip my coffee.

- Water plants.

- Burn cinnamon rolls.

- Sip coffee.

- Before, I could even put icing on the yummy burntness, Emma spilled a WHOLE coffee cup of hot chocolate all over my kitchen table AND beautiful chair cushions.

- I uttered an ugly word under my breath.

- Clean said table and chairs.

- Ice the cinnamon rolls.

- Kids eat breakfast.

- The dog gets out again.

- I'm suppose to be at the splash pad at 10:30. The clock reads 10:26. So much for being on time.

- The girls SCREAM when I spray them with sunscreen.

- The dog tries to eat the sunscreen as I spray it.

- I was walking out of the door and my husband tells me we might go camping for July 4th. "I've never been camping. Not even in the backyard. So, if you want to go with me and two children on our first camping trip, have at it. I suggest we leave the children. I'm just saying, I might be hard to deal with alone without two screaming children." At least I was honest about it.

- Out the door and on my way at 10:40.

And I didn't even finish my coffee. Ugh!

Life Lesson Number 2

Growing up, my parents weren't terribly strict.

I could watch what I wanted on TV.

I could drink Pepsi.

I could eat candy.

I knew right from wrong.

I was never a rebel... unless you call drinking a little Arbor Mist behind closed doors with all of my friends every now and again rebellious.

I was your typical 16 year old.

Your typical 16 year old that LONGED for a belly button ring.

It was a little trashy and a little cool and I HAD to HAVE ONE.

"I will not pay a dime of it!" my dad said.

"I will not sign for you. You have to wait until your 16th birthday," Mom said.

"Don't do it."

"If your Daddy George finds out... he is going to get you."

Obviously, they didn't want me to do it.

Fast forward a week after my 16th birthday.

I had saved my hard earned hosting money and I was ready.

A friend went with me to hold my hand.

I walked into the tattoo parlor looking like a fish out of water. I was dressed to the nines with heels on because I was on my way to work.

I looked at the tattooed lady in front of me and gulped so hard I thought I had swallowed my throat.

Maybe I should run... I thought to myself.

No, I HAD to HAVE it done. It was almost as if I HAD to do it to show my parents HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I DID IT! What a stupid little 16 year old I was.

The whole time I was laying there, I remember thinking of the Saved by the Bell: The College Years when Alex wanted a tattoo but didn't get it because the guy's name was Rusty. Rusty... needle... hahahaha!

Anyway, my guy's name was not Rusty.

I laid down, closed my eyes and he counted.

He was done before I knew it... literally.

I sat up and saw the big ass needle still in my belly button.

Talk about vomit. That was disgusting.

I walked out of that tattoo hole and new woman though.

I was a new woman with a belly button ring.

I was a new woman with a CROOKED belly button ring.

F word.

I probably said the actual word when I noticed it.

F F F F F!

I remember my Dad just laughing and shaking his head. I'm sure he was thinking, "Yep, I told you not to get the damn thing."

Anyway, with the right belly button ring no one ever even noticed the crookedness.

However, I did have to hide the damn crooked thing from my Daddy George for YEARS. That was no small feat.

Anyway, fast forward 10 years and two babies later.

Caroline: "Mom, what it that?" as she points to my belly button.

Me: "Oh! Well, that is where Mom had a belly button ring."

Caroline: Stares for a few seconds.... "GROSS! What's wrong with it?"

Me: "Ummm... you did that to me and so did Emma. You stretched my belly button and it made the hole look ummmm... funny."
We had a long discussion about what a belly button ring was, looked like, etc.

Caroline: "Can I get my belly button pierced?"

Me: "Sure! When you are old enough, you go for it girl!"

Caroline: "Ummm... Mom... I don't want to. I'm not a fan."

Life Lesson #2: Maybe your children really do learn from your mistakes.

Here's to hoping anyway...

-------------------------------
I was going to post a picture of the belly button. However, it looked like a pornographic image so I will not post it. Ask me about it in person... I'll show it to you.

Watch out world.

I can't drive.

This is no secret.

I mainly use my Jeep for storage. Again, no secret there.

I say all of the time, "If I had a million dollars, I would hire someone to personally drive me everywhere I want to go (and someone to scratch my back whenever I want)." The latter having no significance to the story.

With all that said, I would also like to add that I am given the finger at least 4 times a week.

At first it really bothered me.

I would get all upset. I played the role of apologetic crappy woman driver... OMG, I should have slowed down so they knew I was going to stop at that stop sign... OMG, I feel terrible. I probably scared them to death.

Not anymore.

Now, they get the same treatment.

For example the other day, I honestly didn't do anything wrong.

I was at a busy intersection. It was my turn to go. I looked a few times and went. As I am back up to my normal speed a car that is coming towards me in the opposite lane lays on their horn and gives me the finger.

I didn't even pull out in front of the car. I have no idea why he honked.

I had time to react. I laid on my horn and gave him the finger and pretended to yell cuss words at him.

Totally threw him for a loop.

Lesson in life #46: Even if it is your fault, always blame the other driver. They will be so confused that they will forget what even happened.

So for now, no more crappy driver nice girl.

As if it could get any worse, right? I am now the crappy-driving-bitchy-girl-that-is-freely-throwing-the-bird-driving-a-car-that-looks-like-it-belongs-to-a-hoarder.

Watch out world.

My Day in Pictures. Don't get too excited...

Ashley did it and I thought it was cute so I will do it to.

Without further ado... our Sunday in cell phone pictures...

My morning iced coffee. Thank God for caffeine or I may not survive. Seriously.


I water my crepe myrtle, petunias and begonia every morning. I am also watered and cared for our Topsy Turvy. It is even growing tomatoes... much to everyones surprise ;-)


We of course had Sunday lunch at Nana's. It was amazing as always.


Yes, we ate all of that! I forgot to take a picture of the before. This was what was left over after all 17 of us ate. Can you imagine how much food Nana actually cooks for one meal? We had grilled pork tenderloin, panko chicken, butter beans, fresh corn, field peas, loaded potatoes, cucumber, tomatoes, macaroni and mayo, rice, gravy, squash, cabbage, deviled eggs, slaw, cornbread and rolls.

After lunch, we celebrated my Mom's birthday with Nana's pound cake, strawberries, and real whipped cream. Yum!


After lunch and birthday celebrations, the girls went to Mom and Dad's house for a few hours. They have the cool pool with the slide...



I came home and laid in the sun for about 30 minutes. I know you are thinking, the sun nazi in the sun?! Yes, I laid in the sun and yes, my body was fully covered in sunscreen and my face covered in zinc oxide. Anyway, I read my book and relaxed it was just too hot for me.


I went to pick the girls up and let Zoey play in the country some. (I forgot to take a picture of her though).

We came home and talked about dinner. Of course no one was really hungry, so the girls had egg salad sandwiches and I had a PB&J. Ryan chose to skip dinner all together. He was sooo full!

Mom had already given the girls a bath (thank you, Mom!) so after visiting with my inlaws and eating supper it was bedtime.


I lay with Emma every night and last night she wanted us to lay in my bed. I read my book until she fell asleep.

That's when I broke out my secret stash.



We forgot to give my Mom a bag of Harry London Buckeyes. Whoops! I let myself have two and savored every itty bitty bite. If you have never had Harry London candy, you are missing out. O to the MG! So good! Not as good as German Milka... but close.

This is how I found Zoey when I looked out to check on her...


Girlfriend was tired. By the way, she was 12 weeks old last weekend. We took her to the vet and she weighs 24 pounds and no she isn't overweight. According to the vet, "she is just going to be a really big lab." Fabulous!

Then I settled in and watched the season finale of RHOC. It was a train wreck and I loved every minute of it.


I read a little more after that and then I was off to bed.

Hope y'all enjoyed my boring day. This is pretty much my life. Nothing special but oh so entertaining.

No Fear Shakespeare

Wow!

Again, another lapse in blogging.

I am beginning to find that when I read, I don't blog.

Whoops!

The Percy Jackson series has me hooked!

If you haven't read them, you should. They are fabulous. (I'm only on book two).

I also reread A Midsummer Night's Dream. I actually read it online using No Fear Shakespeare. Very fun!

I'm pretty sure if you have an iPhone, you can get the No Fear Shakespeare app. It is neat. It has Shakespeare's language side-by-side with a facing-page translation into modern English.

Just thought I would share.

Now, I'm off to celebrate my Mom's birthday. Happy, happy birthday to her!

See you tomorrow!

I promise... because I already have a scheduled post ;-)