It's a.........

NIECE!!!!! I'm so excited to report that my sister, Allison, found out she's having a girl!! Little girl is coming sometime in November and we're all so excited! Allie and Ron took Brock, now 3 and 1/2, to the sonogram to see the baby. Apparently, when it was over he said something along the lines of "Where do we go now to pick up my baby sister?" I'm thinking he hasn't quite grasped what's going on in Mommy's tummy. Awhile back they asked him, "What's in Mommy's tummy?" He replied, "A bunny". Well of course...a bunny! Little does he know that that bunny is gonna be hoppin' on out of there soon and coming home to live with him!! He will be such a precious big brother. I can't wait to meet this sweet little girl!!

A little less wisdom...

 Well, as wise as I know Doug is, his mouth no longer holds the proof! On Friday, Doug went
"under the knife" for the first time in his life to have all FIVE of his wisdom teeth removed. It's quite rare to have more than four. But guess who else had five?? Me! Funny, huh? Doug had the nurses and the doc pretty cracked up when I went back to see him after the surgery was complete. He was high as a kite!! He had quite alot to say...mostly very funny things, but one pretty inappropriate thing of a sexual nature. Let me just tell you what a proud moment it was for me. Now that your curiosity is peaked about what on earth he said, I guess I'll have to tell you. The nurse was informing me how to roll the gauze bandages to make a little "bulge" in the sides of his mouth. Well, wouldn't you know that Mr. Laughing Gas just had to pipe up and say, "My wife always gives me a bulge...but not in my mouth." His speech was all slurred and his eyes were glazed over. If I didn't know better, I would have thought that instead of performing surgery, they really snuck him out the back door to a bar. Well, his comment sent the staff into some pretty hysterical laughter. Thank goodness they weren't the uptight type, right? So this weekend we've been taking it pretty easy. I've gotten to be his nurse, which has been a nice change. Up to this point, it's been him having to take care of me with my many ailments! So although I'm not happy that he had to have the surgery, I am happy that I could be here to take good care of him. He's a very good patient! BTW, the "creatures" pictured above with Doug are his "pets" from growing up. Doug wasn't ever able to have real animals due to his Mom's bad allergies. So, the bears (Beoy {Bee-Wee}and Thatcher...now both 20+ years old) have been his pets! I thought I'd bring them out to give him some extra TLC! :)

Not so ap"peel"ing...

So, sometimes it might seem like a great idea to put potato skin peelings down the disposal (which I've always called the "dispose-ALL" meaning that surely it will take anything I give it!) Well, below that you will see that it is NOT a good idea to put potato skins down the "dispose-some".
 I really thought it would work great! But, before I knew it, I had two sink-fulls of water and potato nastiness. So, my dear husband came in with the super plunger to "work his magic". Hmmmmm. Not so magical. The end result was our landlord attempting to fix the sink with his wife screaming orders at him in Chinese. I'm not sure what all was being said, but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with the idiot who thought it would be a great idea to put potato skins in the disposal. When they left our house, I'm pretty sure they were in a fight and our sinks were still full of gunk. If you know me well, you know that I am a little neurotic when it comes to things being neat and clean. There was no way that I was about to have all of our dishes sitting out with food on them until tomorrow when he returns with a new pipe. Yes, a new pipe is needed. So, being the nut that I am, I insisted that we do this... That's right, I washed the dishes in the front yard. This should bring back some memories for Kim and LynnAnn. When the 3 of us lived together, I went head to head with the "dispose-some" in our house too. And let's just say it didn't appreciate the POT of rice that I emptied into it. That evening also resulted in dishes being washed by a hose in the backyard. I just couldn't bare to put nasty dishes unrinsed in the dishwasher. And I definitely wasn't gonna leave them out on the cabinet since the other evening I encountered a roach that was bigger than my car. So, what else was there to do but scrub-a-dub-dub in the front yard!! Of course, Doug thought this was totally nuts and felt the need to "document". It was a fun show for the neighbors and passersby. 

Hot Stuff

 

I think you see now why I have the nickname "Hotsie"...because I am HOT STUFF!! Especially in this new snorkel gear. Looks a little painful doesn't it! :)

"Back" in business!

Well, at least I think I'm back in business. Some of you know that I have a love-hate relationship with my sciatic nerve. I love it when I don't know it's there. I HATE IT when I'm keenly aware of its presence due to the fact that it causes days of FOB (that's flat on back) and horrific pain! This little problem arose back in 2003 when I took up jogging/running. What was a wonderful exercise and route to weightloss eventually turned into the nightmare that is Sciatica. I've seen multiple doctors over the years, had MRI's, CTscans, LOTS of Hydrocodone...the works! It seems that about every six months I do something that re-injures or re-irritates that nerve. This time it was my poor decision to do some leg presses at the gym that put me FOB for about 5 or 6 days. This week, I saw the Orthopedist (who by the way, I'm pretty sure was twelve years old). So, "Doogie" as I like to call him, has suggested a very conservative approach to my healing to start out with...special exercises at PT and swimming. We'll see how this goes. Of course, there's a lot of other things to do if this doesn't work...the last option being surgery, which I have no interest in having!
So, just wanted to give a little update on my "condition" as I've had so many of you sweet friends call to inquire. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers for me as I navigate this road to recovery. I'm headed to the pool at 5am for some "pool walking". You should know that I bought myself a snazzy red mask and snorkel today. The doc said I could use these to swim since I'm not good at doing the breast-stroke and BREATHING at the same time...that is important. Surfs up!

Congratulations to THE BRYANTS!!!

This weekend, our two good friends LynnAnn and Paul became Mr. & Mrs. Bryant!!! What a wonderful and special time of celebration it was. LynnAnn and I have been friends since the 7th grade. We attended J-High, HS and Baylor together. We also lived together after college for several years. She is one of the most precious friends I have ever had. We have shared so many fun times and memories. We spent a long time in the "waiting room" together waiting for our husbands to show up!! LynnAnn has been so patient and so reliant on God to provide just the right person for her. What a blessing it has been to watch her relationship with Paul bloom and now bust forth into marriage! They are a wonderful couple, and we wish them MANY years of joy together!
 
LynnAnn is always beautiful...but she was especially, amazingly beautiful at her wedding!
 
 Sweet old friends
 Sweet new friends~Doug and Paul

 The happy couple
  Beautiful cakes from Creme de la Creme
 
 

 LynnAnn with her sweet Mom, RuthAnn
 
The husbands!
 Christy & Me
 Meggan, Me & Jessica

Sweet Caroline!!

 
 
 
Our sweet friends Kim and Eric had their precious baby girl, Caroline Elizabeth, last Thursday. We are so excited for them as they begin this journey of parenthood! Caroline, your Aunt Hots loves you already...can't wait to meet you sometime soon! Congratulations Kim and Eric! We are so proud and happy for you!!!