Love Hurts... sorta.

I think love feels pretty darn good. It's clumsiness that hurts.

When I was a teenager, I enjoyed spending time at the College Lake in Montevallo, Alabama. Something about sitting in my car beside the water was very soothing to me. Sometimes I would get out and walk to the water's edge, just not often.

There were swans at the lake. Swans are not friendly. I am to this day, afraid of swans.

In the spring of this year, I went to the lake by myself once again (this is a major fete considering I'm the mother of three kids). It took me back but not to the point that I felt young again. It was very familiar, though. I understood why that girl (back in the 80s with a completely different set of concerns) would find this place healing.

Luckily, there were no swans present, so I was able to take a couple of photos of the spillway.







Bryan and I did some sparking at the lake while we were dating. We walked across the spillway once and I left a chunk of DNA on a piece of rebar sticking out of the concrete (I still have the scar on my knee).




Bryan took me to the local pharmacy and bought bandages and antiseptic. He doctored my knee.

I fell deeper in love.

I look a lot different from that girl (still just as clumsy),



but the heart is the same. I'm forever falling deeper in love with him. How lucky am I that Bryan is still taking care of me?

*Ya know? He looks just a smidge older too. It suits him, though.

There is a bridge over the spillway now.


If it had been there in 1990, I would have one less scar on my knee. I would also have one less memory.

I'll take the scar.

Lookitchoo!

"Hey. Not much to say. Lost the will to live blog because there are no gummy bears in my life."

Just kidding.

I really don't have much to say. The diet is going well however I can't claim a 'lifestyle change' just yet. Instead of talking about what is on my mind (gummy bears), I'll show you something.

I know many of you have played with the PhotoFunia site and have looked at similar pictures on other blogs. Well guess what? You get to look at mine now!

Oldest Daughter is actually responsible for the following photos. She has spent hours tinkering with Piknic and she combined the sites to create some pretty cool photos (I expect she will have a promising career, doctoring photos for the National Enquirer ... because enquiring minds need to know).

Take a look at the pictures created by my girl (which represent time spent on the computer instead studying).

She used this photo...



and tweaked it on Piknic....



then uploaded it onto PhotoFunia...



Cool right?

The Boy...





The Diva...





The Mom...





The photo tweaking Oldest Daughter...






The following are pics that Oldest Daughter edited using only Piknic...









We have had oodles of fun looking at her pictures. Did I mention that the services on PhotoFunia and Piknic are FREE? Yeah, free fun is the best kind of fun.

Have a great day y'all!

BIG FAT *SIGH*

So.


My weight has gotten to the point that I need a girdle to get into my sweat pants. My fat jeans have become my skinny jeans and my new fat jeans are waiting for me in the store.

To be tried on... and used to wipe away my tears.

I am NOT buying more fat jeans.

The (latest) diet starts Monday. My next post could be interesting. "Diet? Who, me? No! I didn't say I was starting a diet Monday. Someone hijacked my blog and posted that stuff." Or, "Hey. Not much to say. Lost the will to live blog because there are no gummy bears in my life."

Mark the date. I will do a follow up post March 1, 2011 sharing my 'skinny for 5 minutes' picture (I am fighting the urge to write "HA!" after that sentence).

Stay tuned...

...and wish me luck.

My 8/28 Rally

Romans 8:28

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

WORKPLACE DRAMA

Overheard between two employees at Express Oil Change:

Hey Mike!

Yeah?

I found out who is over-tightening the oil filters.

Who?

You.

How do you figure?

Didn't you do an oil change on Samantha's Jeep?

Yeah.

Well I checked. The oil filter was over-tightened. It's you man - the Jeep is proof.

It just goes to show that it doesn't matter if you are Mr. or Mrs. Corporate America, or if you are Blue Collar Mike. If you work with people, there are going to be issues on the job.

Have a great weekend Y'all... hopefully away from workplace drama.

*Stay tuned next week to hear Mike say "Hey Fred, you bloomin' super sleuth. I figured out who is putting all the 10w30 in the cars instead of 530..."

Alabama Bloggers... "I scored for my team"

*Click HERE if you are an Alabama fan *wink* wanting to participate in the "I scored for my team" football carnival.





I DO love this time of year. Oh, the heat is still bad. I miss my children. I have no excuse for not cleaning my house... but the excitement of football is in the air!

I watched Training Days: Rolling with the Crimson Tide on television (three times actually, thanks to DVR capability). It was champagne, candlelight, and whispered promises for this Alabama fan. I swear my pupils dilated and my pulse rate increased when Nick Saban screamed at his players on the practice field. I was an Alabama fan being wooed by the Tide. Everything about the show said, "Think about me. Talk about me. Go ahead, I want your obsession."

They had me at "Roll Tide."

I am primed and ready for September 4 when Alabama plays San Jose State. This game will not be the toughest on their schedule, but I imagine the Tide is preparing to come out strong regardless. Our opponents know that they will face a formidable team when they play the 2009 National Champs... which may be why 6 teams scheduled their open week before playing Alabama.

Did you read me loud and clear? SIX teams will have a break in play before they face the Alabama Crimson Tide, including Auburn. You can find an article about it HERE.

Alabama will take their bye week before the LSU game. In my opinion, LSU has become a bigger rivalry than Tennessee. Oh we still have strong (STRONG) distaste (*pooey*) for the Vols, but our relationship is different with LSU. Since Nick Saban was once married to that program, we have the same attitude a woman might have about her husband's attractive ex-wife.... and vice-versa. Thankfully though, now they have Les (and we have more).

So.

Considering that Alabama will start this season as the National Champion, #1 on the AP and Coaches polls, playing 6 (SIX) rested teams with Penn State on our schedule... if San Jose State is a "gimme" that's one of a very few. The Crimson Tide has a lot to defend this year but I'm confident they are up to the challenge.

ROLL TIDE Y'all!

I'M GONNA SCORE FOR MY TEAM!

If you haven't been by Alabama Bloggers recently, here's a heads up. The second annual "I Scored For My Team" football carnival will start tomorrow and run through September 6. If you are an Alabama fan, I just KNOW you are going to participate and take our Tide to the top again this year. Blog-bragging rights for an entire year... SWEET!

All Tide fans can click HERE for information regarding the competition. Sorry Auburn fans, the link only works for the Bama Nation (*wink*).

Oh yes, things get a lit-tle ugly this time of year.

Have a wonderful week Y'all!