Birthdays All Around

September has become a month of birthdays for me. Most of my posts this month have been birthday shout outs. And today is no exception. This day is the birthday of my Hattiesburg roomie Leah. I miss my days in Hattiesburg and especially miss all the fun times I had with Leah and my other college friends. In graduate school, Leah, Myndi, and I were basically the 3 Musketeers. Usually if one of us was around, atleast one of the other 2 were close by. I have so many great memories from those days and wish I got to see more of Leah. She was a fabulous roommate and one of the funniest girls you could ever meet. Here is a picture of us in the 'Burg and just one of the goofy pictures that are sure to exist.

And in keeping with my birthday tradition, here are a few of the reasons I love Leah and am glad she was my college roomie:

1) She loves college athletics as much as I do. Most girls are not as enthusiastic as me about spending a day watching college football but living with an LSU fanatic the year they won the national championship made it even more exciting.

2) She has the most entertaining karaoke skills of anyone I've ever seen. I have never heard "Fancy" sung in quite the same fashion as Leah performed it.

3) She's a great travel buddy. Leah was part of several trips I made in college. My first trip to Chicago wouldn't have been nearly as much fun without her.

4) She has a wonderful family. I spent a good bit of time with Leah's family during our time in Hattiesburg and they always made me feel welcome and part of them.

5) She is a prankster. She started the Honk, It's My Birthday tradition on Myndi's car and then for my birthday she somehow stole my car floormats and replaced them with pink carpet custom cutout ones that still are in my car because she never returned my actual floormats.

So Happy Birthday Leah. Hope to see you soon.

Today is also the birthday of my precious little cousin Payton. She is 3 today and she is such a princess. I know I am probably more than a little prejudiced but she really is one of the cutest little girls I have ever seen. And her personality is so cute. She is a little performer and doesn't shy away from showing out in front of anyone. Here is a picture of her and her best friend Mallanye. Payton is the one on the right. The one posing! Happy Birthday Pay Pay!

Happy Birthday Cooper

Yesterday was Cooper's 2nd birthday. I can't believe he is already two years old. It has gone by so quickly. He is such a sweetheart and his personality comes alive more and more every day. Today was his birthday party at Planet Playground. There were so many people there. When you get all of our family together and then the friends who make up the extended family there is madness. It was a beautiful day and the kids had a blast. I think Cooper got more presents than I got for my 1st-18th birthdays combined. It really was ridiculous. He had a Clifford the Big Red Dog cake and it was so cute hearing him say what kind of cake he had. It's hard for a 2 year old to say that. He also responded with Happy Birthday every time somebody told him that so there were lots of birthday wishes going around this afternoon. He is one of my 2 favorite boys in the whole wide world and even though I was afraid that I could never love another nephew like I already loved Braden, it took me about 2 seconds to fall totally in love with this sweet precious boy too. I can't wait to watch him grow up. Happy Birthday Cooper!

What a Weekend

Because I am doing the alternate route teacher licensure program, I have to take an online class this semester. It is taught by an instructor at Ole Miss (sorry Heather and Laura) and it requires that I attend an orientation session in Oxford. Though I knew I had to go, I was not looking forward to spending a perfectly good Saturday in Oxford UNTIL.....my fabulous friends Courtney and Clay offered to let me spend the night at their apartment in Oxford and Curt (Courtney's brother) and Robbie decided to go with me and make a weekend road trip out of it. So after that, it was on. Last night once we got to Oxford, we went to the Square and ate at Old Venice which was absolutely fantastic. I LOVE PASTA (and no I didn't just get spaghetti Myndi!) and it did not disappoint. Then we strolled around the Square and spent a long time in Square Books which I loved. I can get lost in a bookstore so easily. I love books. I guess that comes from being a librarian's daughter!

So after heading back to the apartment for yummy dessert made by Courtney, the real adventure of the weekend began. We started out on our trek to Holly Springs, home of none other than Paul Macleod, father of Elvis Aaron Presley Macleod and owner of Graceland Too. If you have never heard of this tourist attraction tucked away in the tiny town of Holly Springs, fear not, I will spread the joy and wonder of this hot spot. Paul Macleod is the biggest Elvis fan and collector of all things Elvis. Seriously, he is in the Guinness Book of World Records. His house is covered from floor to ceiling with Elvis everything. And he is open 24/7 every day of the year. It doesn't matter what day of the week or what time of the day you go, Paul is waiting to greet you and give you the grand tour. It's totally insane. And nothing is better than hearing Paul recount, with false teeth bumping in and out of his mouth no less, his tales of Elvis encounters and how much his son looks like Elvis (which by the way is SO ridiculous). It is quite obvious that Paul's son has moved far far away, changed his name, and denies any knowledge of Graceland Too. This is my theory, though according to Paul, he is just always off working on Graceland Too-The Movie.

This is really one of those places that you HAVE to visit and experience yourself. There is just no way to possibly describe to you the hilarity of it all. It only costs $5 and once you go three times you become official lifetime members and never have to pay again. And so the reason for our trip. Though we have all been before, this weekend became the time for me, Robbie, and Curt to become lifetime members. Courtney and Clay, who introduced us to the phenomenon that is Graceland Too, became lifetime members the last time we went. So this weekend marked a milestone for me and even more so for Robbie, who though she pales in comparison to Paul for her devotion to Elvis, still surpasses anyone I know under the age of 50. Once you become lifetime members and not a visit sooner, you are eligible to wear the belt and jacket and hold the guitar for an official picture that may one day hang on the walls of this historic monument. (That is, if Paul could ever leave to get the pictures developed and then find even a hint of wall space to display it) But nonetheless, the 3 of us took our place in history as official members and sported the coveted items for a pic. I can't tell you how priceless it was to be given that official pink cutout card signifying my entrance into an elite club of Graceland Too visitors. It will truly be a moment I will treasure for days to come.

So after our wonderful night, reality set in and the actual reason I came to Oxford surfaced with the early morning light as I had to wake up and go sit most of the day in a classroom for my orientation. It really wasn't too bad and I actually got out earlier than I anticipated allowing me to go with the group to see Rowan Oak, William Faulkner's home. This actually is a true piece of history and was interesting to see. And it was a gorgeous day hopefully signifying the beginning of fall. And just when I didn't think the weekend could get any more interesting, a totally random natural gas explosion occurs this afternoon in Philadelphia which just happened to be where my car was parked since we met Curt there on Friday afternoon. And it just happened to be at the building on the road in front of where my car was parked. And it just happened to knock out some ceiling tiles and lights and windows at the building where my car was parked. And it just happened to do not one single bit of damage to my car. Not one thing. I mean if random explosion is going to occur yards away from my car and destroy buildings and vehicles in its path, why can't it take out my Camry that I have been driving forever? The car with over 200,000 miles. The car that the paint is coming off. The car that I love but has seen better days and is getting oh so close to that roadtrip to the sky. But no, nothing, happened to my car. And while most would be ecstatic to return to find their property safe and sound, I was quite disappointed that a new car paid partially with insurance money is not in my future. So there was my weekend. Hopefully you haven't quit reading since this post is especially long. Just couldn't figure out a way to succinctly express all the blogworthy moments of this weekend. It was one I won't soon forget.

Guess Who's Home...

Aunt Kay Kay, Uncle Ronnie, and Brian are in town this weekend for the Annual Rock and Roll Revival. It is a classic car show in Meridian that they come home for every year. An award is given in memory of Kyle and Brian gets to pick out the winner so he gets pretty pumped about coming. Of course, Uncle Ronnie jokes that he just picks the car closest to where he's sitting and doesn't actually walk around and look at all the cars there. I love getting to spend time with them and haven't seen them in way too long. I haven't been to visit them in Tennessee since April and I don't think they've been home this summer so I was ready to see them. They came in on Thursday so mama cooked that night for the whole fam. It was a loud fun night. There were 6 kids between the ages of 2 and 15 and they were being really silly and showing out dancing. It was lots of fun. Of course, Aunt Kay Kay and Uncle Ronnie had driven all night and gotten to Meridian early that morning so I'm not real sure if they could have handled much more excitement. I'm so glad that I got to see them and can't wait until October when I'm planning on heading north to the mountains.

Welcome to the Oprah Show

If you have ever wanted to be a part of a taping of the Oprah Winfrey show, you should have been in my classroom today. All of my students and myself made guest appearances on the same set with the one and only Oprah Winfrey. I must say it was a thrill. We are doing a unit on Mississippi and this week's focus has been famous Mississippians. And what would a study of our great state be without a tribute to one of its most famous and influential natives. So even though I am pretty confident that none of my students even have a frame of reference for who Oprah is, we decided to do it big. Each student also made the cover of Oprah's magazine. Of course, the only issues available are in our classroom so don't scour the stores to find them. I wish that I could take credit for these wonderful ideas but I am not that good yet. They have hired a retired teacher for this semester to help transition the students and help get the program kicked off right and she is fabulous. She taught for almost 30 years and has so many wonderful ideas and experience. It has been such a God-send having her around. Tomorrow we are studying Elvis and if you have ever wanted to try out as an Elvis impersonator stop by WLHS and find us. We will be the ones in the paper sparkle capes and black wigs.

Luke Family Fun Day

On Saturday, my dad's side of the family got together to celebrate my parent's anniversary and my aunt Kay's birthday. If you have ever been around the Luke family, you know we don't need much of an occasion to eat, laugh, and play. Deanna jokes that we have family reunion every week. But this day was special because we headed to the way deep South of Jasper County where my cousin Lori Ann lives. If you think Collinsville is country you should see this place. My mom and I got lost and went in circles trying to first find a cell phone signal to call someone for help and then finding the actual house. Once we got there though the celebration was on. Lori Ann has many acres of land and tons of four wheelers which for the Luke clan equals hours of fun. We rode all around the yard and even went down the road to their lake and fed their HUGE fish. Another fabulous part of the day was the tire swing. You haven't really lived until you've swung on a tire hanging from a gigantic tree. While I wasn't the only somewhat grownup to ride the 4 wheelers, I'm pretty sure that I was the oldest person on the tire swing. Oh well. Everyone else just missed out.

One of the things that made the day was seeing members of my family ride a motorcycle. My aunt Kay who was celebrating her 65th birthday and her husband both made rounds on the motorcycle, even though I thought Uncle Larry was going to take the house down. But the best site of the day was seeing Robbie ride. She was hilarious. She wanted to ride but started screaming almost immediately after getting on and I don't think I've ever seen anyone holding on so tight.

What a great day! I hope we get to go back to the way way way country soon. And if you haven't experienced a Luke family function, you certainly need to. I promise it will be a day you won't soon forget.

The Big 25

Today is the fabulous day my roommate Deanna entered the world. She is 25 (still such a baby!) Last night we went to Outback to celebrate. We had silly girls night and giggled way too much. No matter where you go or who is around, when you are with Deanna there is always going to be goofiness. She is so funny. I met her when I started working at MCC and before too much longer we were roommates. She can always make me laugh so there is rarely a dull moment at our apartment. We both have moved on from MCC now and I know we won't be roommates forever but I will always be thankful for the crazy times we've had and all the stories and memories I have. Here are just a few of the reasons why Deanna makes my life more interesting:

1) She has a song ready to sing at any moment. Any word or statement is fair game for her to pull out some 1988 song lyric.

2) She expands my wardrobe significantly. Because we can wear alot of the same things, I can choose from her closet or mine. And her accessories are way cooler than anything I have.

3) She gives my life some ghetto. I would never have known all the words to Buy U a Drank if it wasn't for Deanna.

4) She can choose somewhere to eat without it taking an act of Congress. I am the most indecisive person about little things like where to eat but she will quickly decide where she wants to go. Not so much for the major life decisions but if the choices are Wendy's or Chick-Fil-A, Deanna is the girl to ask.

5) She can talk to anybody so I never have to worry about any awkward silences around a bunch of people cause she will fill in the space with some random question or game like Who Would You Rather? I can be quiet around alot of people but she always comes to the rescue.

So Happy 25th Birthday Deanna. Hope you have a great next year in your new job.

Football Friday

Friday night was the first home football game for West Lauderdale. Mama and I went to the game along with pretty much everybody else in Collinsville. I mean if you want to get away with something you aren't supposed to in Collinsville do it on a Friday night. Football season has become insane at West Lauderdale over the past few years because they have been very successful. It's so funny to go back to a game now and see how much excitement there is about football because when I was in high school we were lucky if we won more than 2 or 3 games. This year I'm sure I will be at many football games not only because I am now working there and can get in for free (one of the perks of being a teacher) but also because Brooklee is a cheerleader. She did really good cheering on the sidelines even though she was on the complete opposite end and I could barely see her. Here's a picture of her at her first pep rally.

Braden and Cooper were also at the game on Friday as official members of the West Lauderdale Fan Club. They both had on their cute t-shirts and got to stand on the field before the game when the players ran out. Of course, the only thing that really interested Braden was the band and for Cooper it was the food. Football was secondary to both of them. In about 10 years we will be going to football games watching Braden leading the band. I mean he is 5 and his favorite movie is DrumLine and he has a CD that he listens to constantly of the MSU Marching Band. He is destined for the Band no matter how much Cary objects.

And my final story from the first football game...I was standing in line at the concession stand with Braden and right behind us were 2 boys who couldn't have been older than 5th or 6th grade. As we were waiting I was listening to them discuss the perils of middle school love. The conversation went something like this:

first boy: This game isn't nearly as fun as I thought it was gonna be.

second boy: I know. We are losing.

first boy: Yeah and I haven't got a girlfriend yet.

Oh if I could just go to a football game and leave with a boyfriend. I hope this kid keeps believing for as long as possible that it's that easy. So even though WL lost it was a fun night and I'm sure I will be back.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream

Last night Apartment 2H was transformed into an ice cream parlor. My Sunday School class came over for a night of fellowship to kick off our new church year and we decided that the best way to do that was with ice cream sundaes. We had almost anything you could think of for ice cream toppings. We had brownies, cookie dough, strawberries, bananas, hot fudge, caramel, whipped cream, nuts, and sprinkles. Could you get any more fattening than that? It was so much fun. And we put the hot fudge in my cute little fondue pot so I was really excited about that. Of course we could all barely move afterwards but it was worth it. And even though I threatened all of them if they left any of the stuff they brought, I found the rest of the cookie dough in the fridge a little bit ago. So now I have to see how strong my willpower is when I know that a thin refrigerator door is the only thing separating me from that fabulous chocolate chip cookie dough. I'm pretty confident that I'm going down in flames, another victim to the power of indulgence. I haven't been able to spend much time with friends lately so it was really nice to spend an evening catching up on each others' lives, watching football, reminiscing about old times and of course, eating. Not much else is needed in my book for a good time. Basically if ice cream is involved I'm in. Me and ice cream are a good time in my opinion so to share that with friends and football makes it all the better.

Happy 35th Anniversary

Yesterday was my parents' 35th wedding anniversary. I can't believe they have been married that long. There are lots of moments when I've wondered how did they ever get together and how do they put up with each other. But they still love each other so much and have been a great example for me and my brother. Cary and I tried to come up with something special to do for them on their anniversary but after realizing that it fell on the first day of dove season we knew that it was pointless because my dad wouldn't be available. I jokingly asked my mom how she ever convinced my dad to marry her on the opening day of a hunting season. Making him miss a hunt is almost grounds for divorce at their house so he must have really been in love to agree to that date all those years ago. I did get a DVD made for them with a lot of old pictures from before they were married and early on in their marriage. It turned out really well and I had a blast looking through all their old pictures. My brother looks so much like my dad did when he was younger. Neither of us really look like our mom. I'm so glad that I have the parents that I do and I love them both so much. Probably the best thing that they ever did for me was to always give me anything I needed and never give me everything I wanted. They have given me a strong moral foundation and taught me to value people and not things and for that I will always be grateful. I am the person I am today because of their guidance. So thanks mama and daddy. I hope you have a great anniversary and wish you many more happy years. Happy 35th!

Football Fever

I am officially in the football spirit. I have been looking forward to opening weekend for a while. I LOVE college athletics and there is nothing better than the first weekend of football after waiting the long summer with no college sports to watch. I spent most of Saturday flipping between games and checking scores. (And you wonder why I'm still single...Who wouldn't love a girl who loves football?) I started off watching College Game Day which made me cry most of the morning. They were broadcasting from Virginia Tech and showed many tributes for those who died in the tragedy there. And while I am usually a big supporter of the underdog I just couldn't cheer against Virginia Tech. I'm sure ECU felt like the whole nation was against them. It was nothing personal! And while my Golden Eagles came through the night with ease my Tennessee Vols weren't as fortunate. It was so irritating watching Cal just run the ball at will against them. Where was the defense UT? I hope this isn't a sign of things to come this season for my boys. Which leads me to my next weekend dilemma.....USM travels to Knoxville next weekend to take on Tennessee! These are the 2 teams that I root on every season and never has there been a conflict of interest. They are in separate conferences and play completely different schedules, UNTIL this year. And next weekend they will face off. My loyalties will have to belong to Southern Miss because obviously I went there and have 2 degrees from there and they are the big underdog. But on the other hand if my Vols have any hope of going to a BCS bowl game and making a positive move ahead after this weekend, they can't get beat by an unranked Conference USA team. And while you may be saying there is no way USM even has a chance and I have nothing to worry about as far as post season hopes for UT, stranger things have happened. Just ask Coach Carr and the Michigan faithful. So I guess I will just have to wait and see what happens when my two teams square off but don't worry Trey I know where my heart lies. GO GOLD!