Awesome Friends

Have I ever mentioned that we have awesome friends? 

They do things like make a huge cupcake cakes and diaper cakes for each other. 

 And offer support in sticky situations. 

And help each other fill the icing plunger. 

And are cute on command.

And take silly pictures with you that actually turn out looking pretty darn cute. 

Yep. We're pretty lucky to have friends who can make even the most laid back Saturday night fun.

Bath Time

Some times, you reach behind your ear and realize you need a bath. 

So you lick. 

And you lick. 

And you stretch to get those hard-to-reach spots. 

And when you're finally clean, right down to your toes

It's time to take a nap. 

Birthdays Abound

We're in the celebration mode with two July birthdays in my family. 

My mom's birthday and my grandmother's birthday fall one week apart. Since Chris and I aren't able to travel to Little Rock during the week to celebrate with the family, I wanted to have our own celebration with the birthday ladies (who I didn't get a photo of together!). 

We had a family dinner at Ashley's at The Capital Hotel, and my oh my, was it delicious. We even had personalized menus for the occasion. 

This is my basil lemon-drop martini.

Me and the almost-birthday girl.

Chris got a group shot. 

We like to dress up and eat good food.

 The other Birthday Girl and Jack. 

Thad!

A good picture of Jenny and Thad. 

And to end the evening, the birthday girls got special Happy Birthday plates.

Yeah for a birthday-celebration filled weekend!!

Punctuation Matters

This is one of my favorite signs in Memphis so far. 

I didn't know Jesus had his specials online, but that does make things a lot easier.

Now, I wonder what the web address is?

The Poop Issue

I'm apologizing now because this post is about poop. 

Not actual poop, but the issue of poop. 

Our neighborhood is obsessed with the poop issue. There are signs everywhere about poop. 

Some signs are very clear and offer bags for easy cleanup. 

Other signs offer more details in case it's confusing to you. They also add some graphics to make sure you know what they are talking about. 

One neighbor has this sign, which thankfully is small, but a little too graphic for my taste. 

 This is possibly a homemade sign. I find that disturbing. Every time we pass this one, I tell Chris that I would rather have poop in my yard than this sign. 

Do you think it's homemade?

This sign is supplied by our HOA I think. It's not as disturbing to me. There is no true poop depiction, and the dog is not in a compromising position.

But this one my friends takes the cake. It's a garden flag. With a very true-to-life poop depiction and the bright red X really seals the tacky factor for me. 

I mean come on people!

And, yes. Chris was mortified that I stopped to take photos of poop signs during our little adventure. 

I Honked

Old Friends and Good Pizza

 

Sounds like a match made in heaven, right?

I was so lucky to receive a call the other day from my oldest friend, Jessica.

She said she and her husband would be in Memphis for the day, and asked if we were available for dinner. Of course!

Jessica and I have been friends since we were in our moms' bellies! 

Seriously. That long.

 

 Unfortunately, their visit coincided with our AC going out, and we weren't able to hang out at the house and cook dinner here. I decided to take them to the new Trolley Stop Market downtown. It's a great restaurant and store run by a farming couple who I met through working the Farmers' Market each Saturday. They have a huge space filled with locally grown and made products, and you can eat breakfast, lunch and dinner there.

 Their pizzas are extra delicious!

Jason did some shopping while we were there. 

We had a great time catching up, and we'll have to do it more often.

Congrats, Hubby!

Last week Chris received an award at work!

It has their team photo, logos of all the fundraising campaigns they work on and a really nice message.

It reads:

Service Excellence Award

Present To

Christopher Cook

BBEC Project Team

In recognition for exemplifying the true essence of professionalism and customer service through your tireless energy and dedication in guiding the Volunteer Service Centers into a new era in volunteer event recruitment and support. 

June 2010.

Such a nice award, and great job, Chris!

What Hapens When...

When Your Air Conditioner Stops Working?

1. First you wonder if it just got really hot that day, and it's not cooling down quickly. 
2. Then, later than night when you return from dinner, and the house is 89 degrees inside, you realize it's broken. 
3. First thing the next morning, you call your home warranty company to file a claim...on a Sunday. 
4. Then you wait. 
5. Then nothing happens. 
6. And it gets hotter. 
7. By Monday, you're so hot that you call the warranty company and the designated repair company 6-7 times, each. Just to let them know that it is TRULY 89 degrees inside your house. 
8. Then you wait. 

What Happens When It's 89 Degrees Inside Your House?

1. You stop cooking. 
2. You eat a lot of watermelon.
3. You sweat sitting still. 
4. You develop pimples from the sweat from sitting still.
5. You refuse to blowdry your hair. 
6. You close all window blinds in an effort to block out the sun's hot rays. 
7. You sit in the dark because even the heat from light bulbs is too much. 
8. You find your animals laying stretched completely out on hard surfaces. Even the counter island, and you really can't blame them. You think you might try it.
9. You take a cold shower for fun. 
10. You take a shower in the dark. Refer to #7
11. You sit outside because it's actually cooler. 
12. You close every door in an effort to keep each room's hot air to itself.
13. You stand in front of the thermostat and contemplate the fact that it can actually display the digits 89 degrees.
14. You go to Lowe's and buy a KUL unit and install it in your bedroom. 
15. You can't believe you have cooled air again. 
16. You never leave your bedroom. 

And so, here I sit in our dark bedroom with un-blown hair, a belly full of watermelon and still slightly sweating.

We would have called our own repairman before it got to this, but the house is still under warranty, and who wants to pay for something when they don't have to? 

I guess people who enjoy an air conditioned house where they don't have to sit in the dark with nasty hair, sweating with their animals.

Don't Flash The Camera

I've been working with my camera this week without the flash to learn how to use more natural light. And what better test subject than a sleeping kitten?

I like this last one the best, but Chris says the first is his favorite. What do you think?

With Family on The Fourth

Chris and I visited his folks for the Fourth of July. I actually worked the Farmers' Market that morning, and we left that afternoon. 

I decided I would try to take some photos of the trip down there. Turns out there isn't much between Memphis and Ridgeland, MS, but here's what I got. 

We ran into Pookie, well Pookie2

We debated on how to pronounce this one. 

Thought about stopping to see The Pope in his Court Land, but figured there would be a line.

Came across a very grateful person.

Thought about stopping for some coffee, but we pressed onward.

And we finally got there to see his folks!

Keesha was happy to see us, but not our camera. For some reason she is terrified of cameras, and although mine doesn't look like my other point-and-shoot, she was still scared. We managed to get this one by placing the camera on my lap and using the screen to secretly snap it.

It was really nice weather, and we spent most of our time outside.

I tried for another secret photo, but my angle was all off. You can see their pretty landscaping though!

Chris and his dad.

"Hey Mom. I'm being good."

Papa Cook showing Chris he's still the boss. 

I'm shocked!

Papa Cook pulled out his camera back, and we rummaged through it.

Turns out he has a very nice Hasselblad camera.  They are most known for being used in space. You can read about it here.

Yes, my friends. That is film.

Chris liked seeing all the camera stuff.

We also met Larry, the Cooks' neighbor. Larry likes to drink cranberry Smirnoff (vodka premixed with Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice in a 250-ml bottle), listen to country music and share his cucumber salad. We love Larry. 

We enjoyed a lot of good cooking while we were there.

I think most of our pictures together are in the kitchen, and I love it!

I think we all had a great weekend. 

Don't let this scary/unfortunate/bug-eyed picture of Chris and me tell you any differently.

I've clearly lost my gift for the self portrait on my new camera.