Brad Paisley

I'm not really into music. But here is one fellow I can get excited about. Not to mention that Wil loves this guy too. Supposedly he is one of the best guitarists in country music, which is pretty sweet. I think that what Wil and I like so much about him is his lyrics. Country tends to be a little bit hokey, but these lyrics are flat out funny.

A sampling...
"I'm Gonna Miss Her"

Well I love her
But I love to fish
I spend all day out on this lake
And hell is all I catch
But today she met me at the door
Said I would have to choose
If I hit that fishin' hole today
She'd be packin' all her things
And she'd be gone by noon

Well I'm gonna miss her
When I get home
Right now I'm on this lakeshore
And I'm sittin' in the sun
I'm sure it'll hit me
When I walk through that door tonight
Yea I'm gonna miss her
Oh, lookie there, I've got a bite, Alright

Ticks
'Cause I'd like to see you out in the moonlight
I'd like to kiss you way back in the sticks
I'd like to walk you through a field of wildflowers
And I'd like to check you for ticks.

I'm Still a Guy (Wil's favorite song...I think it might be his mantra)

When you see a deer
You see Bambi
And I see antlers up on the wall
When you see a lake
You think picnics
And I see a large mouth up under that log
You’re probably thinkin' that you’re gonna change me
In some ways well, maybe you might
Scrub me down, dress me up
Oh, but no matter what
Remember, I’m still a guy

I was watching the CMT station yesterday and saw him sing this with Hank Jr. Maybe that is why I'm all hyped up on Brad Paisley today. Or maybe it is because last year his wife (Kimberly Williams Paisley a.k.a. the daughter on Father of the Bride) was announcing an award at the CMAs and when talking about the Ticks tour with maybe Carrie Underwood or Julianne Hough (some good-lookin' blonde) referred to the tour as the "You'd Better Not Check Her for Ticks" Tour. Clever lady.

Want More Brad Paisley...you know you do: http://bradpaisley.musiccitynetworks.com

Coupons

I've tried to "steal" from CVS with Extra Care Bucks and coupons. I call that attempt unsuccessful. I walked away from CVS with 2 ECBs and $30 worth of stuff...granted I was buying diapers.

But now I think I have found something I can do: Coupons for the grocery store.

I buy the paper from one of the guys at 5 points in Winston, which helps those guys out b/c they always seem like they have a ton of papers to sell, and I rarely see anyone stop. I sadly do not read the paper, but skip right to the coupons. Hey, you can't do it all...I pull out the SmartSource-like things, and any other stores I think might have stuff I would need (Target etc). Then pull out the scissors. I am trying to only clip coupons for things I know I will use/eat. I have quite a few for cleaning products and upon trying the clean the apartment this weekend, realized that I need to use those b/c we don't have a lot of cleaning supplies! I hear the dollar store has good deals + coupons...ahh.

Harris Teeter will double any coupon up to 99 cents. Which I think is good because a lot of coupons are 40 cents or 55 cents off something which doesn't seem like anything. Last week, all three of us shopped at HT, equipped with a list and corresponding coupons. Savings for that day? $10

It may not seem like much, but it sure sounds better than $2 ECBs.

Just a little update on the little man...

A Few Wiley-isms....

-when asked a question: "Umm,let's seeeee"

-when Daddy hugs Mommy: "Stop it, STOP IT, STOOOP ITTT! GO COOK! [pointing at kitchen]" (all this is directed at Wil, mind you)

-when someone does something he is not liking: grrr [low,throat growl]preceding the inevitable pounce attack.

-when given a flashlight: "Open up your mouth"

-when being talked to and he agrees with what is being said: "mm uh-huh"

-when he is scolded or disciplined: "go night, night...I want to go night night."

-when he eats something yummy: "mmm,zat good."

-when he says he loves you: "i ove you"

precious boy...

Beautiful Mess

Here I am...Back with reliable internet and a house full of suitcases, bags, and other random holders of our stuff from the summer.

Wil and I drove from the lake today in our cars, Wiley and I had quite an adventure with him screaming for about 20 minutes straight. I just tried to ignore it, knowing he was exhausted and would fall asleep soon. Wil and I both gave one another a pumped fist as we pulled into the driveway!

We are so glad to be back, but it is also really hitting me that this is going to be a really different, but great, year. I immediately looked for my friend Michal's car in the parking lot, forgetting that she doesn't live here anymore, and then I realized too that there are new people and new cars here and I don't really like change. And then I realized that we are seniors, that the next time that we are moving such a large load of stuff out of the apartment will be for good--and that there will be a moving truck with movers to lift instead of Wil and me (I hope). And that we would know where our next stop in life will be. And that is really exciting, but weird to me.

So for right now, I am going to continue to pray about the future and for God's plan to be done and not mine. I'm going to just enjoy this year, this month, this week, this day and all that comes with each of those.

And on this day I will enjoy unpacking gobs of stuff that we have accumulated...and keep Wiley out of the cabinets that he has rediscovered.

PS: Anyone interested in our orange chair? I'm ready to simplify and sell that thing. I'll post pics later.

Welcome August!

I can't believe that it is already August! And that I haven't posted in SO long! Here are a few brief updates to get everyone back to where we are on August 3.

- Wiley has hit the terrible twos. Bad. Don't be surprised if you ask how Wiley is and I reply "awful."

- The trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming was amazing. So beautiful. It is so different out west when there is not snow on the ground. Not to mention that we saw buffalo/bison really close (maybe a little too close for comfort)(and see first picture, look behind Brooke and me, there's a buffalo!), sadly no bears or moose or elk. We did see prong-horned antelope and mule deer. Brooke and I had fun getting to know Lucy's fellow staff members too. We saw Old Faithful at Yellowstone, had a picnic there, a la Yogi Bear, rode horses, fly fished (I caught a great big spruce), and rested.

- Wiley may or may not have strep throat again. THis would be a recurrence of the strep that we discovered after we were called to pick him up from school because he had a 102 degree fever, a mere hour or so before we needed to leave for the airport, for Jackson Hole. Luckily, Dr. Bill made an emergency house call, confirmed strep, sent Wiley and T to the office and me (sobbing all the way) to the airport. W got a penicillin shot that failed to take effect, and was later called in antibiotics. It took him a good four days to get over it. So currently, perhaps I can blame the awful behavior on a possible sore throat? We'll check tomorrow and see if our low dose antibiotic is working.

- Wiley has finished school at Canterbury. I was so sad. They gave him a sweet card with all the classmates' handprints on it with their name. The teachers also wrote him sweet notes on the inside. It meant so much to me, and Wiley thinks it is pretty cool too. We put our name on the waiting list for Fall 2009 just in case we were to end up in B'ham...you just never know and if we are I want him back with Canterbury.

-I have finished my work at flower magazine, BCC teaching tennis, and Table-Matters. I am excited about the upcoming week to spend with Wiley just hanging out. I have a few things to do before leaving B'ham, including moving out of the apartment we've been in all summer.

-I will be student teaching at Clemmons Elementary in the 2nd grade! I am excited, and can't believe that student teaching is finally here! I will meet the parents at Open House on 8/20.

-Wil is currently in Bermuda, doing a mini-internship/following people around where they work. I joke with him about coming back with a job, and not just a tan. :-)

-On Friday, we will begin our trek back to Winston-Salem. We'll start out the trip with a great roadtrip with "Miss Emmy and Mr. Heaf" where we will pick up Wil in ATL. The final destination is Bald Head Island, which according to local legend is a little bit of heaven...not to mention that Cole, Raymond, and Digger the Dog will be there! After BHI, the Coopers will go to Lake Cherokee, drop Wiley off with Baba and Big Dean, and head off to Los Angeles...the land of fruits and nuts...Am I allowed to say that? We'll see a taping of 24 (Jack Bauer, please don't get any DUIs b/w now and then), explore LA/stalk movie stars. I plan on getting on a tour of famous people's homes. Then, back to ATL, back to Lake Cherokee, get child, drive to W-S. All with car loaded down like a gypsy.

-Did I mention that our DVD player in the car doesn't work, and the drive to BHI is about 9 hours?

That's all for now. That was ridiculously long.

flower magazine

Because I am on a roll with blog posts and don't want to think about leaving...

Check out www.flowermag.com (you can click the link on the left). I have been interning at the magazine this summer and am constantly amazed with the magazine itself and the people involved with it. Margot Shaw, the editor, is so passionate not only about the magazine but about life in general--it is kind of contagious. Melissa Brown and Callie Aldridge have also been so wonderful and kind--to watch their creativity at work is really fun!

And if you really love the website, go ahead and order a subscription--you won't be disappointed!

Travel

So this afternoon I am heading out west to visit a friend at a ranch in Jackson Hole with my parents and sister. The boys will be fending for themselves for about a week. Sadly, Wil couldn't go and Wiley is a little bit young for a ranch. I always get nervous and anxious before leaving, so here I am distracting myself by updating the blog. I still have to clean up the apartment and finish packing. agh!

On another note, Wiley was bit yesterday at school. At first I thought the teacher meant that Wiley had bitten another child (We had had a scare a week ago when a bite notice was put in our cubby but was for another child) and I was absolutely horrified and embarrassed. Then they let me know that in fact Wiley was the "victim." Was it bad that I was relieved? He'll recover from a bite, but teaching him not to bite could be a real problem and challenge.

We also have hit with full force, the terrible twos. We have had baby fits over buckling in the car seat, getting dressed, and just about anything that he does not want to do. So any advice on getting through the twos would be much appreciated!!
Here is a picture of Wiley appearing to be a sweet swaddled baby, but in reality throwing a babyfit b/c it was bath time...(notice how big he has gotten! He is so heavy!)