catching up

This weekend was great! I was able to go to my parents' house. I haven't been home in about 2 months, so it was nice. On Saturday I decided to layout and then wash my car. When you wash your car at my house you run the risk of having to wash others, but it was a beautiful day so I didn't mind a bit when my grandmother asked me get hers while I was at it. :) Well I didn't mind until I got out of the shower that evening. When I say my back looks like a lobster, I'm not even joking. You know those pamphlets and warnings that say, "Avoid prolonged time in the sun between the hours of 11 am and 2 pm"? Well they aren't kidding! Burnt, painful burn too, but Sylvia (my car) is all clean and happy!

This weekend I also got to hang out with my two best friends, Sara and Lexie. I haven't seen either of them since February, so it was long overdue to hang out! I love these girls! We've been best friends since grade school.


Here's a picture from Sara's wedding in 2006. Such a beautiful bride, and I have to say to very attractive bridesmaids! :) Lexie is probably the best 4th grade school teacher a kid could wish for! Sara is busy keeping up with her baseball playing hubby! Check out her busy life in minor league world here. Hopefully Lexie will soon follow with some of her funny stories from class with her own blog. These two girls are my hearts! I love them!

Well if it's for a Cause...

Have you ever noticed if something is for a cause, then its a hit! There can be an ordinary green shirt. No big deal, but if you put "I'm green" on it the likelihood of it selling more will rise. I'm not pointing my finger at anyone other than myself. Recently Southern Miss has started a "Go Green" campaign. One of the first things implemented were these nifty mugs. I know you might have seen them at your average gas station. It's a mug with a lid and it fits in your car cup holder. You can put cold and hot beverages in it (probably not at the same time... a coke and coffee eww). What makes this mug different from ALL the other mugs out there? Well my friend, this mug says "Drink to the Earth". Well if we're drinking to the earth, I must buy one! My eco-friendly drinking habits were never discovered until a mug told me to do so. Mugs like this have been sold for a very LONG time. Yet, when you stick a cause on it, its totally different. Yes, I do agree it does promote awareness having the message on the mug, so its not a total cliche. So I can and will be seen with my Drink to the Earth mug on campus drinking my coffee and lemonade. Hopefully I can remember to take it home on the weekends to continue my earth friendly drinking habit. :)

By the by my Go Green Guru, Larry Lee, has informed me though that I must drink EVERY drink out of that mug for FIVE years in order for it to benefit anything. Wow... that's a long time for one mug. I think I might have to go get another, so I can switch them out. hmmm...

ps-- check out thehungersit.com. Feed the hunger while you shop! Most of my Christmas presents came from here and I think its safe to say my gifts were loved!

a wonderful world of make believe

Even though I am 24, I have to say one of the best jobs ever is babysitting. Where else can you work in a land of fantasy, unless you work for the big Mouse himself? I have a pretty steady babysitting side-career currently, and the girls I keep, keep my heart. Walking into their house is always a delight. You never know what adventure awaits and what part you will play in it. I've played many different roles-- from Tinkerbell to a timid turtle. A fairy princess to a tan-skinned mermaid. Glinda the Good Witch to a crawling baby only able to communicate with goo-goo. My favorite dance partners have been found in the homes I babysit. I only hope I will always be able to dance with their same carefree attitude and just enjoy the music of the moment. (That's me and two of the beauties dancing at a Valentine's Dance).

This weekend I was able to watch 'my girls'. Instead of the usual 3, Tabitha and I tag-teamed with 5 on this particular night. It has to be understood, these children have stolen the hearts of both Tabitha and myself. Slight jealousy arises when the other gets to watch the girls (a friendly jealousy though).

The weather was so beautiful this weekend, you were drawn outside. After swinging and running for a while, one of the girls started rearranging the chairs in the backyard. I'm not quite sure where all the chairs came from, but pretty soon there was a straight line of about 9 chairs.

When asked what she was doing, she confidently responded, "I'm making a Barbie Shop."
"A Barbie Shop?"
"Yes, a Barbie Shop. Only girls can get their hair cut here."

Precious!
I just had to get my hair done. After a quick snip snip with play scissors and a few pokes in the ear, I had a blow dry with a bubble maker. Fabulous! But it didn't end there. I was then able to pick a toy on account of my good behavior. She had a blanket of toys laid out behind the row of chairs to choose from. Such imagination!

I wonder how I used to play when I was little. Sometimes its hard to remember. When did we get too big for fairy princesses and secret missions? As the distance between childhood and today grows, I am so thankful that I do have reminders in my life keeping the kid in me alive.

I am my mother's daughter... naturally

I know this is a given. Duh- Of course I'm my mother's daughter! Who else's would I be?! Over time this has become evidently true. Growing up I always thought 'I'm never going to be like my mom-- she's crazy!' (a good crazy though, not the crazy crazy you're probably thinking) I'm sure we've all had these thoughts about our parents or another influential grown-up. You pick something about them and decide that is something you will NEVER do or be like.

Well nothing like reality to hit you in the pants for thinking that! Last week was my mom's birthday. She decided to make a weekend of it. And not just any weekend, a weekend with me none the less. She came to town on Thursday, spent the night. Shopped Friday while I worked. We went to the Coast that night and saw the Blue Man Group at the Beau and came home on Saturday. During this trip she was able to see my life in Hattiesburg, and she could not get enough of it. Always asking questions-- something I am terribly guilty of almost all the time. Wanting to know more than I'm willing to open up to-- another something I'm guilty of-- I usually always want to know more then I should.

After her visit I was told that I'm a lot like my mom. To my astonishment my jaw dropped-- No, I'm not, but in reflection, yes. Yes, I am. Its a not a bad thing either. I laugh and make fun of the way she rationalizes shopping when she has plenty, knowing I do the exact thing almost daily. Guess that's where I learned it. I'm sure there are tons of little non-verbal gestures we both do that I'm unaware of. I even gain weight the same way she does. It's in my genes. I might as well accept it. I love my mom-- who wouldn't? It's funny I can talk or hang out with my sister and something will happen. We will both just look at each other and wonder aloud when we both became our mother.

tagging conformity

So, this tag thing is going around the blogspot right now.... I suppose in an effort to procrastinate a bit I will contribute. Thanks Amy.

Five things on my to-do list today...
1. Clean my apartment.
2. Do some laundry
3. Buy a gift
4. Call a gym and join
5. Catch up on some reading

Five snacks I enjoy...
1. Wheat thins
2. Hummus... is this considered a snack or meal?
3. cheese
4. CANDY! I have a slight sweet tooth
5. Combos-- the pepperoni with cracker kind

Five things I would do if I were a billionaire ...
1. Pay off any bills for me, parents and sister/brother-in-law
2. Give to different service/nonprofit organizations-- kids, cancer (things I care about)
3. Church
4. travel
5. not throw it all away

Five bad habits...
1. Can't say no
2. Push important issues to the side instead of facing them
3. Sometimes I don't share my true feelings (kinda ties in with #2)
4. Try to finish other people's sentences
5. Daydream

Five places I have lived ...
1. Brandon, MS
2. Hattiesburg, MS
3. Southern Miss Campus, this is much different than living in Hattiesburg
4. Madrid, Spain (for a summer while I studied)
5. my mom would say I lived at best friend's house for the better part of my childhood instead of my own house.

Five jobs I've had...
1. Developer for the Future (I babysit. I like kids.)
2. Provider of Higher Education (maybe not THE provider, but I help by doing my job now)
3. Soldier of Knowledge (aka- student)
4. Barista (okay, I served coffee at a medical facility, but barista sounds really cool)
5. Scrimp Scrampy Server (server at Red Lobster in Jackson for a short time)

Okay... That's all. I'm not tagging anyone. It's just too much pressure :)

i heart the office... in reality and on tv

In celebration of a new episode to FINALLY grace the airways, I will share my love of "The Office". Well not only my love, but definitely the love of the two others in my office space. Not everyone is a fan in the entire office. BUT I am convinced if they watched, they too would be hooked as I am.

In recent weeks the guy who sits next me and I have started to play innocent office pranks on one another. Nothing big really. For instance, occasionally while talking to him I will slyly push the lever up on his chair with my foot causing him to suddenly drop a bit. No matter how many times I do this, he is always caught off guard which makes it so much more enjoyable for me. I've created a small wall between our adjoining desk with popsicle sticks. I've received text messages warning me about my coffee from "the Future Staci" (him). The latest is pretty good I have to say so my self.

This past weekend I had to come to the office for a little bit to help with something. Since it is rare to be in the office outside of office time AND him not be there also, I decided this was the perfect time to strike. I hid his chair and built a much smaller chair out of tinkertoys. Yes, we have tinkertoys in the office. What office is complete without a barrel of them? I wrote a note attached to the chair talking of downsizing and everything. I think he thoroughly enjoyed the joke. Here's a photo of the finished product.

I'm anxious see his next move... I'm sure it will be good.

hi grandma

Yesterday marked the highly celebrated day of my boss's birthday. Since everyone knows that the world revolves around me (complete joke for those who know me) I got to thinking about my birthday and the year under my belt. It suddenly occurred to me that in November I will be a quarter of a century old.

Crazy!

If that weren't enough, there's more! As you may know (yes both of my readers know) I work with college students. This week we got to meet a lot of incoming freshmen for next year. Did you know that next year's freshmen will be born in 1990??!! Hello I officially am old. If you see me walking on campus and feel compelled to call me grandma, gramps, nanna, maw-maw, granny, grams, grammy, or any other grandmotherly name instead of Staci-- I understand and I will probably answer. That is if my hip doesn't break first.