worse than dodgeball

so i was tagged a while back for the little "name eight random things about yourself." and really, as long as it didn't involve amish friendship bread, i figured i would go ahead with it and get it over with.


as far as the game of tag, it brings back some painful elementary memories. you know what i'm talking about. you look outside the window at 10:15. you know recess is in fifteen minutes. and you know they're not going to let everyone play outside in the rain. which means...inside recess in the gym. which involves either tag or dodge ball. don't get me wrong, i loved me some active games and all. but i swear to you i was that girl who was ALWAYS it. always. i would almost reach someone, and they would decide that their shoe was base. or the stage was base. or their bff was base. whatever. i was always it. for the entire recess. like i said, sometimes i really just preferred dodge ball. take the red, partially deflated rubber ball and peg me in the face and just get it over with. so i can go sit with my buddies and talk about guess jeans and jellies and swatch watches.


anyway, as painful as it is...i'm it. so grab a cup of coffee. not because it's unbearably long. but because it will be unbearably boring. and these are eight random things about me. i did not, however, say that they would be eight unusual things about me. you'll see what i'm talking about.

1. i took a photography class with my friend weentrab before she made it big.


2. my best friend kelly and i met in fourth grade at a slumber party. we have both been pregnant at the same time and have two children each three months apart.


3. i met buz at my first "real" job. we had offices next to each other. one day, he came in in a light yellow polo button down and leaned up against the door of my office and used the pick up line, "hey. my brother is a pastor at a church here in town. wanna go together sometime?"


4. the first time i met my now sister-in-law (brother's wife), we had on the same outfit. jeans and a white with navy stripe short-sleeve sweater. i knew she was in. or maybe she knew i was in.


5. i was at the delivery of my other sister-in-law's (buz's brother's wife) first born. she introduced me to her mom as buz's "co-worker." because you know, it is so normal to bring one of your co-workers into your sister-in-law's labor and delivery rooms before she has her first baby.


6. i was an athletic trainer in high school. to this day, i still get chills wrapping someone's ankle in athletic tape. i hate to toot my horn, but i'm pretty good at it.


7. when i was in junior high, i rotated watching "grease II" and "mannequin" every sunday afternoon when my parents and brother napped. those VHS tapes literally wore themselves out. now i know why big h wants to watch high school musical and high school musical 2 all. the. time. oh, and don't think i don't watch it with him.


8. when i was in seventh grade, i won a Z104.5 turquoise and hot pink t-shirt for singing the ENTIRE chorus of "rock it to you" by the jets on the radio. the DJ laughed throughout the entire thing. oh, and so does my brother and his best friend every time they even think about it. i love being the butt of jokes. i do.


9. i met Charles Barkley when i was a freshman in college. oops, that was #9, but wasn't meeting Charles Barkley totally worth the extra random thing? totally.

so there you have it.

also, wanted to let you know that there will be a guest "author" here this week, starting tomorrow. (i won't name any names, but he is really, REALLY CUTE! and totally taken.) i will be on vacation WITHOUT CHILDREN this week for FIVE DAYS with my best friend kelly. we are going to washington to retreat and be together and eat a lot of nachos with processed cheese and drink gallons upon gallons of real dr. pepper. and probably shop. a little.

so hopefully *someone* will be bringing you minute-by-minute updates of life around here. pray for buz. actually, he doesn't need prayer because he is going to do great. in fact, big h and the goo are going to want me to go to work and daddy to stay home. because there will be lots of snacks and playing outside and pizza and watching shows at bedtime. daddy disneyland is what i like to call it. buz doesn't like that term.

but seriously. my kids are going to eat him up. they are going to have the best time. he asked me before i left "what do you want me to tell you when you call?"

my response was, "i want to know that everyone is healthy, having fun, missing mama A LOT, but not enough to make life hard, and that my job is way harder than you ever thought and that you appreciate me a lot."

was that too much to ask?

speaking of everyone being healthy, i took the goo for her two-week ear follow-up this morning, and she has another double ear infection. are you kidding me? so glad i can provide vacation for our pediatrician and his family. pray for buz. that he will manage everything beautifully and that he will get quality sleep. pray for goo. that she will finally get better. pray for big h. that he will win "best felt square 2007." just kidding. sort of.

OH! that reminds me. i need to show you how the square turned out. thanks to all you crafty cats out there with all your suggestions. they helped so much. i will try to have buz take a picture of it before he takes it on friday.

since i have to leave the house tomorrow morning at FOUR O'CLOCK, i should probably be signing off. and i will leave you with this...

kelly and i will be relaxing here, thank you very much.

and one more thing. just wanted to introduce you to something called a jacket. it's something you wear when it's brisk outside. now, you texans...i know. i know you don't know what this and perhaps you have never worn one. but i want you to know that yours truly will be donning one for five straight days. i will report back with what a pleasure it was. and i will not be wearing any shorts either. jeans. perhaps the trouser jean that these two keep talking about.