The Amazing Race of 1000 Places To See Before You Die

In honor of my favorite tv show starting again last night, I'm going to do a 1000 Places to See update. I don't think I've done one on this blog yet. Probably because we haven't traveled much lately. Boo. Anyhow...Here are the ones of the 1000 Places To See Before You Die that Jonathan & I have seen together (in no particular order)
1. Vienna (Austria)
2. Paris (France)
3. The Rhine Valley (Germany)
4. The Taj Mahal (India)
5. Taal Volcano (The Philippines)
6. Ancient Thai Massage (Thailand)
7. Sydney Opera House & the Harbor (Australia)
8. Pacific Coast Highway
9. San Fran Cable Cars
10. Biltmore Estate
11. Outer Banks
12. Heart of Charleston
13. National Mall & its Monuments
14. Smithsonian & Beyond
15. Palace of Winds (India)
16. Chatuchak Weekend Market (Thailand)
17. The Grand Palace (Thailand)
18. The Oriental (Thailand)
19. Rome (Italy)
20.Sistine Chapel (Italy)
21. Chianti & San Gimignano (Italy)
22. Piazza Del Campo & the Palio (Siena, Italy!)
23. Florence (Italy)
24. Top Tables (India)
25. Savannah's Historic District

Next up:
26. Kauai
27. Oahu

I'm itching to travel again...which is good because the girls & I are headed to Edisto Island tomorrow morning! If I was writing a book on 1000 Places To See Before You Die, I would def includee Edisto. And I would not include so many hotels.

Sunset

About two-tenths of a mile from our house is a farm that we've bought many fresh fruits and vegetables from this summer. If you drive past at just the right time of day, you can see an incredible sunset over the farm with the silos silhouetted in the fading light. Last night as Kiran and I drove back from CVS, we caught it just right. The sky was ablaze with oranges and purples and pinks. I pointed it out to Kiran and told her how beautiful I thought it was and all. Kiran looked at it and said, "Wow. I colored it."

Going Private

I'm thinking about taking my blog private. I enjoy blogging because it helps me sit down and reflect on life. It has built a little community that I love and that I learn a lot from. Its an easy way to keep up with far flung friends and family.

So none of those reasons require me to have my blog public. Really the only reason I've left it public for so long is because I enjoy blog surfing sometimes and I felt it was my duty to have mine out there. Anyway, I'm not convinced that is a good enough reason to keep it public. I just feel like there is no reason why there should be this much information about me and my family on the internet.

So unless you can convince me to keep my blog public, I'll probably go private within the month.

My Luckiest Day Ever

At every MOPs meeting, I write my name on a little slip of paper and deposit it in the hat for a chance to win door prizes. All last year the only thing I won was a little plant which I promptly killed by neglect when I got home. I am horrible at keeping things alive (except kids. and husbands.). Today the girl at the table wrote my name for me since I had Sienna-baby in her wrap when I arrived.

The leader lady drew two names for regular door prizes- books, cds, etc. Then she announced that they had the best grand door prize ever and then she pulled my name out! WOOHOO. Of course I was standing at the food table stuffing a doughnut in my mouth- I really didn't think I'd win- I never win stuff. Except one...ok never mind. So what did I win? I won a birthday party for one of my kids plus 8 of her friends at Monkey Joe's, an indoor inflatables play place. They said its worth like $300. That's awesome. What is not awesome is we just had Kiran's second birthday party. Its good through March but the lady that got it donated said to call and ask about extending the deadline. If we can't, we'll just tell Kiran its her birthday again and have another party. She doesn't know; she's two. Its her birthday when we tell her its her birthday. Its my party and I'll cry if I want to....

Lucky!

Make New Friends...

....but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold. I love old friendships. They are soft and weathered. There is great comfort in knowing people well. Occasionally I find that comfortable friendship with someone quickly but more often for me it takes time- peeling back the layers, becoming more vulnerable, anticipating the other's response.

So I invited myself to my old friend Tara's baby shower. It never occurred to me that Jeni might be there so I was thrilled to see both of them there. While the other ladies (it was mostly friends of our moms) played with Sienna, I got to catch up with these girls and it was refreshing on so many levels. So in honor of our long lasting friendship, I pulled out some old pictures....

Big Pumpkin Night at TFBC- Oct 31 1996 Tara, Kelley, Audrey and Jeni

Sister Act May 1997- Lynn, Jeni, Kelley, Leigh, Tara. We performed for a fundraiser that night- I'm sure it was quite the performance. I do remember that my future husband portrayed Michael Jackson that night. That should have been my first clue.
Buckhorn May 1998- Jeni, Kelley, Brenna, Tara. Jeni is wearing her Samford shirt- she went to Samford for a year before transferring. Tara, her mom, Jeni's mom and I drove to Samford to see Jeni early in the school year. When we returned to Jeni's dorm room that night, we learned Princess Di had died.


Tara's baby shower Sept 2008- Jeni, Tara, Kelley. Jeni is mom to a baby girl, Tara is expecting her first -a BOY- and I have two girls. Its fun to see the next generation being born!

Thanks for walking down memory lane with me...

Sunday Tidbits

1. I'm drinking my first cup of hot chocolate. I'm channeling Mom Fitz b/c I have the a/c and the fan on BUT I'm enjoying my first hot chocolate of the season.

2. We are addicted to House. Love it. It comes on every night at 8 on USA which is right when we are helping Sienna fall asleep. The routine is I nurse her then J holds her till she's out and we watch House while we do it.

3. I'm so behind on posts. I haven't blogged about Sienna's dedication, Tara's baby shower, Elijah's story, Furman game, etc. Oh well. I like making lists better.

4. Hugh Laurie should have won the Emmy for whatever he was up for.

5. I accidentally ate a piece of cheese when making Kiran's grilled cheese on Friday. Sienna woke up at midnight with gas. She hasn't woken up before 4am in at least a month. Thankfully last night she slept through till 5 again but man one tiny bite.

6. I miss cheese. And sour cream. And Oreos. But its totally worth it to sleep through.

7. If I can get up and get the dishwasher unloaded before the girls get up, my whole day goes much more smoothly than when I don't. Its amazing how that one thing sets up my day. The worst is when I get up and I go in the kitchen to find that I loaded the dishwasher and put the soap in but forgot to turn it on. Bummer.

New 'Dos

We were finally able to pull enough of Kiran's hair back to make a ponytail! And Sienna is sporting a new look- The Bald Spot. The unfortunate thing about having so much hair as a baby is it makes that ole bald spot so much more noticeable.




(And Happy Birthday to my sister Erin!)