God Bless America!

Oh the Lord is good to me!!!

As you can tell from my last post, I've been a tad depressed about the food thing.

{And whiney and full of self-pity}

But TODAY....

oh TODAY!!!!

I found this:

I have tried numerous gluten-free, dairy-free mixes. They are all around $6 a bag at the health food store.

I have thrown cookies and brownies in the garbage can because they were so bad.

And throwing $6 down the drain is a big deal for me (and for Justin, the tightwad husband who doesn't seem to understand the obsessive trial of mixes).

But this... this was like manna from heaven!!!

Even the dough was fantastic. I ate a lot of it:

And the cookies, well, they are pretty darn great too.Yes, I've already eaten two.

So I am feeling a lot better after my chocolate fix.

I knew you would want to know.

Cavewoman is Having Surgery

That's pretty much all I can say.

I do not have the energy to embellish my grand announcement.

I am sorry.

I know you have been checking my blog daily to see what happened at my doctor's appointment.

The grand event will take place on July 3. I wonder if I can go to the fireworks down at the pier the next day?

Emily + pain killers = sure-fire entertainment.

{Oh, I am so funny...}

My mom is coming to help Justin take care of me. I am quite glad. Justin gets cabin fever and will need to get out and ride his bike for 50 miles or something. I might need some Coke or my pillow fluffed while he is gone.

I have to stay off of milk/eggs/wheat for EIGHT more weeks following the surgery.

I am very tired of this diet.

I want cake, people.

And brownies.

And an omelette with cheese.

Or anything with cheese.

Or a freaking croissant.

It has been 11 weeks.

I have not cheated.

If this surgery doesn't make it possible to eat the afore-mentioned foods, I might go into serious depression.

Please send flowers.

And prayers.

I will need them. (the prayers and the flowers.....)

Catch up...

We have been so busy. We have done it to ourselves, but we have been swamped nonetheless.

I shall attempt to catch up as briefly as possible (with pictures of course).

Last weekend we went to the First Friday Artwalk downtown. It is the first Friday night of the month, and all the shops downtown stay open late and have wine and food, and everybody walks around and checks out the art.

And drinks.

I had some Arbor Mist that rocked my socks off. I am such a lightweight. (Who serves Arbor Mist at an artwalk anyway???)

Justin and I saw a pretty painting in the Lyon's Share Gallery that cost $1800. We decided to replicate it (imagine that), and spent much of Saturday working on "projects." We created a series of three canvases to hang in our bedroom. The first two are below. Mine is on the right. Whose do you like best???Since we were in the painting frame of mind (pun intended), we decided to go ahead and spray paint a few old picture frames that we got for $2 at an estate sale (for all 3)! I have had grand aspirations for the frames...we just have a problem setting aside time to do it. Here they are "before":I had some mats and glass cut for the frames, and then voila! They look like this:I got the magazine cover idea from a Conde Nast ad in my Lucky magazine. I went on their site where you can order prints of old covers for $285. No thank you. I printed the ones I liked (Vanity Fair covers from the early 20s) on the color copier at work on some halfway decent paper. Free. They are very "Emily" I have decided. I hope I don't get arrested for copyright infringement...

Then on Tuesday, Hannah Catherine Miller decided it was time to enter the world... 18 days early! Sally is doing wonderful, and Hannah Cate really couldn't be any cuter. She has a head full of black hair, and we are concerned that she is going to look more like Matt than like Sally. It has been very fun watching Matt become a daddy. He has turned into such a softie, and I love it!! I went to the Dr. on Wednesday. I am going to write a post devoted entirely to my appointment. It will be very dramatic I am sure.

Friday night we went for a walk down by the bay after dinner. It was a beautiful night, and I am amazed at the gorgeousness of where we live. I definitely take it for granted most days. Justin likes to take pictures of the water, so here are a couple: The first one is from the end of the pier...that is downtown Mobile on the horizon. The second one is looking to the left towards Point Clear and the Grand Hotel. You can see the "point."We worked all day Saturday and Sunday on projects.

Again.

Justin was working on making some yard games for our supper club next weekend... hillbilly golf and corn hole. I'll have some pictures of that later.

I was working on this:Isn't she beautiful?? Unfortunately I can't take credit for all of it. I painted the background, then Justin came in with the angel. We really like it! Of course, the angel is me, but I am sure you figured that part out. We don't know where it should go yet, but I would love for it to be seen often.

So... we are very tired and sort of over the art for a while. I have to sew some this week... one of JC's games requires bean bags. I need to finish up the pillows for my living room, but I just haven't had the inspiration. Or the will-power not to cuss when the bobbin runs out, and I don't realize it has happened.

Tata.

Passive Aggressive Notes

You must check out this website:

www.passiveaggressivenotes.com

It is hilarious and reminds me very much of living with roommates.

My favorite note of all time is "The Sink Does Not Hold Dishes."

Apparently I Know Nothing of Fashion

Lucy and I went to New Orleans a month or so ago... I had some Saks credit burning a hole in my pocket and NOLA has the closest Saks.

I bought another pair of Paige jeans. I am an obsessed woman. (They make my legs look even longer than they are!!)

But that is not my point.

Afterwards we headed to Magazine Street to grab some lunch and check out the antiques and other such goodies. We came across a shoe store and found these shoes: They were so hideous that we had to take a picture. (Lucy, please do not be mad because I posted the picture. It is of vital importance to the point of this post, which I am getting to...)

We went to see Sex and the City on Saturday night. I almost fell out of my seat when I saw Carrie wearing these:

Oh my! It's the ugly shoes from Magazine Street!

I know Carrie is very fashion-forward and all, but I really don't care if she is wearing them or not. I still think they are ugly.

Love to you all on this sunny Wednesday!

I Love VBS!!

This week is Vacation Bible School at our church.

Since I am working just up the hill from the sanctuary, I have been hearing little voices singing and playing and learning about Jesus all morning.

I am reminded of the many, many summers I spent at VBS as a child. My best friends, Allison and April, and I were always in the same class and were always competing over whose craft was better, who could last the longest at Red Rover, who knew the most about Jonah and the Whale, etc, etc... It was never ending, and I find myself easily relating to some of the kids here this week!

I remember marching in straight lines into the sanctuary to the piano playing and singing traditional songs like "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" and "Jesus Loves the Little Children." We said the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag, to the Christian flag and to the Bible. I still remember every word of those pledges.

Mrs. Irena, our pastor's wife, would then introduce the story that we would be learning about that day.

At snack time we drank red Kool-Aid and ate Ritz crackers with peanut butter in the middle and played outside until we were so hot and sweaty that we begged to go in.

Gone are those days, my friends!!

This morning, during our staff meeting, the kids were jamming out to some CRAZY music in the sanctuary! The theme for our VBS has something to do with wilderness/camping/survival. There are theme-appropriate songs, tents on the stage, elaborate skits and room decorations like you wouldn't believe. I am pretty sure that I didn't hear a single Pledge of Allegiance.

The crafts have also changed. My friend Lucy is in charge of them this year, and has nearly had a nervous breakdown over the task. What happened to taking a baby-food jar and filling it with sand or throwing some glitter on a piece of Styrofoam and calling it art?

The snacks are way more high-tech than slapping some peanut butter on a Ritz and probably cost a small fortune.

And the kids don't even play outside on the playground!

I am not saying that anything is wrong with what VBS has become. I believe the heart of the week remains the same--to share and show the love of Christ. I am just amazed at modernization, and can't believe so much has had to change in order to reach kids today.

Maybe I deserve to be a "ma'am" after all.

My Grand Man

This weekend Justin competed in his first triathlon! It was a 1/3-mile swim, 20-mile bike and a 5K run. He has been recovering from an IT-band injury, so we were really glad he was able to run. He did really well. I think his official time was close to 1:40. I think. I was proud of him for just finishing... I could never do anything like that, I am quite sure. He said his knee felt great, and the swim was the hardest part.

While I waited for him on the sidelines I started chatting up this cute little guy who had already finished. (He was in the elite group...impressive). He didn't look a bit tired, so I told him so. He had on an Auburn jersey, so I asked him if he went to school there.

He said, "Yes ma'am."

REALLY?

Ma'am?

I am not even thirty.

He ma'am'd me a couple more times before our conversation was over.

Now, I am very proud of his mama for teaching him some manners, but I really do not feel as if I should fall into the ma'am category.

Because in my head, I am still 18. Or at the oldest 21.

And I for sure don't feel like I look like a ma'am!

Do I?

Turns out he is on Auburn's triathlon team. No wonder he didn't look tired.