Welcome to the World...

Rosella "Rose" Agnes

My sister & her husband welcomed another bundle of joy into the world today (#4!) & I'm excited to have another little niece to get to know, watch grow up & spoil! (For those of you keeping track this makes niece #7!)

Poor Luke! Looks like he's still sentenced to a life of Barbies & "babies" on my side of the family being he's the only boy in the bunch...at least he still has our (1!) nephew on Scott's side of the family to get some boy time in with because even the majority of our closest friends have only girls too! ;)

We love you & can't wait to meet you Rose!!!

#15 The Ocean

only entered my life during the last decade-I had never been before then, but it has definitely made a lasting impression!

I love the sound of the waves crashing onto the beach and standing next to those very same waves always brings to mind just how "small" me & my big problems really are in the grand scheme of things.

My least favorite memory...
Scott & I were on vacation & decided to have a picnic lunch. He left the table for some reason & there was a slight breeze as there always is next to the ocean. This slight breeze decided to take a few of my potato chips with it & BOOM...

1,000,000 seagulls...

decided to join our picnic dinner!
Okay, maybe it wasn't quite that many, but, seriously, in 5 seconds flat we were surrounded by a bunch of these annoying birds & they stayed uninvited for the rest of it just hoping for a morsel of something else-the "rats of the ocean" as I now refer to them! Ugh!

My most favorite memory...
Occurred on my honeymoon. Lying on a beach chair. (get your minds out of the gutter now please ;) Listening to the (kinda) far off sounds of a tropical band in the background. With the night sky spread out above me. Just listening to the waves. And feeling the most relaxed I have ever remembered feeling in my life! Awww!

I'm just always left wishing it only took a few hours to get the beach instead of the 12-14 it always does :( I guess that's just part of me appreciating it that much more when I do get there :)

#14 My Grandma's House...

In town...
*meant getting to play outside in her really big "yard" (she actually did have a pretty big yard, but I never really understood that some of those areas were actually her neighbors' yards too-there were no fields/fences in between!) & getting to walk through her "yard" to get ice cream from the ice cream restaurant occasionally too

In the country...
*is where my sisters & I walked home from while carrying a shoebox containing our first 2 kittens in it-2 little white kitties named Bugs & Precious

In town...
*had sleepovers with my cousins on Thanksgiving weekends in which we stayed up all night long playing a version of hide-n-seek in the basement among all of her "depression era minded/pack rat tendency" boxes & then decorated for Christmas the next day

In the country...
*was just down the road

In town...
*had the yellow chair where she'd sit to watch "Days of our Lives"

In the country...
*had games to play with grandma & grandpa

In town...
*was where my sister & I were chasing our littler sister around causing her to fall & crack her head open-I remember thinking there was a lot of blood while my grandma & uncle held her at the sink

In the country...
*has always had M&M's on hand every time I have ever visited

In town...
*always had an aunt or uncle living there or staying there due to an out-of-town visit

In the country...
*is where you can visit & almost always expect to have the random aunt/uncle/cousin stopping by while you're there

In town...
*was never exactly the same to visit after my grandma passed away when I was 13, the day before Valentine's

In the country...
*had my grandpa's fishing boat & the bird houses that he would build out in the shed & which have been missed since my grandpa passed away in 1999 a few weeks after his 80th birthday

These houses & the grandmas were both different, but the things that I will always remember are all of the love, the laughter done, as well as the many hugs & kisses that have been given & received through the years from both.

#13 FRIENDS

"I'll be there for you..."

And they were, every Thursday night for 10 years...

Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Ross, Chandler & Joey

to fill my world with laughter! This is still probably my all-time favorite show and I do miss getting to watch "new" stuff, but thanks to the wonderful world of technology-DVD's can bring them back to me at any time.

"when the rain starts to pour..."

This show & these "friends" have been part of some of my most fun memories (I'm thinking as a prelude to 'Thirsty Thursday' evenings in college! :)

This show has been part of some of my most not-so-fun memories (Scott & I purchased one of the season's on DVD to distract ourselves when we were down in Georgia after Luke had been born & things looked like they might not be turning out so well for us at that point. I give thanks every day that that didn't happen!)

"I'll be there for you..."

until one day they weren't going to be anymore because the show was ending...

"Like I've been there before..."

and then a DVD collection was purchased, so that they could be once more ;)

"I'll be there for you..."

because of all of the laughter you have brought into my little world & I still laugh each & everytime to this day.

"cause you're there for me too."

*kudos to the Rembrandts for such a catchy theme song & for parts of my blog post today :)

#12 "You People"

I use this phrase all of the time & I know that it can be used/meant in a hateful way towards certain groups of people, but I guarantee you that I have never used this phrase in a derogatory way.

I use it with my family members, especially Scott & Luke....I use it with groups of students...I use it when talking with friends...I use it when talking in/with groups...I just plain use it all of the time...

I hear myself say it sometimes & think "hmmm...that could've come across a bit harsh sounding if my tone would've been different" but I have noticed that I'm not usually using it in a harsh way-so hopefully it never has.

I swear that if I ever "you people just need to..." you, please don't take offense to it because I don't when my grandma & her son (my dad) "you people" ME! :)

Now, all of "you people" just keep on checking back here from time to time ;)

3-0!!!

It just sounds sooo "grown-up"!

I'm not usually too bothered by age & I don't really 'feel' any different than I did yesterday, but I can say that this birthday was just a bit different because...

it just sounds so grown-up!

Of course, I have had to be an adult/grownup for quite awhile now so that shouldn't really matter, but now that there is officially a 3 in front of my age...well you get the jist!

To cope/celebrate, [now channel your inner Prince & "Party like its 1999" voice] "last night I partied because I was still 29!" :)

Drinking beer from a bucket (literally)-keep in mind we were at an Okctoberfest like festivity & hanging out with some of my cousins followed by being serenaded at midnight as I became 30 was all very fun, but today because I am a 30 year old "grown-up" (who frankly can't do that 2 nights in a row anymore like I might have once upon a time during my college days), well today, I celebrated like a grown-up with cake & my families-both were good days & will be fondly remembered!

And now, I'm off to be a grown-up, I guess ;)

#11 Soap Operas

I love them or to rephrase that I loved my soap opera & none could replace it. Unfortunately, it disappeared last year:(

I had spent a good portion of the first 29 years of my life with the families/characters of "Guiding Light" until they cancelled it last year after 72 seasons-that's like almost 4 generations folks!

I can say that I was very sad about its disappearance from the airwaves last fall, yes my DVR experienced much relief, but my heart felt quite the opposite.

Yes, Scott would refer to it as "that dumb show" but I do believe that he was secretly impressed too by the family/individual histories that I could give on the characters from having watched it over the years. (He will also never admit it, but he may even have enjoyed watching it too from time to time ;)

The characters were like members of my make-believe far away family-only I never had to worry about a long lost evil twin showing up, people never completely being dead & gone (they always made it back somehow), or having a child that I had forgotten/never knew existed. I could just revel in their chaos, which always made life seem that much better.

I reflect on it here now, partly, because I didn't at this time last year & partly, because I have been reminded of it yet again as another long time soap that I have watched on & off again through the year was cancelled this week. "As The World Turns" aired for the last time today after 54 seasons. I am the first to admit that my interest in this one has had its highs & lows through the years & I don't feel quite as connected to it, but since hearing of its impending cancellation about 6 months ago-I started watching it again just because. It makes me sad to hear of another long time show biting the dust, but this one won't be quite so traumatic for me (although I do know 1 or 2 people for whom it will be!) I haven't watched the last few episodes yet, but I'm sure they will leave me wishing that I could have my "Guiding Light" back! Alas, that will never happen...

So, to the Cooper's, Bauer's, Lewis's, & Spaulding's-thanks for all of the enjoyment that you brought to my life during the first 29 of my 30 years-you'll be missed over the next 30 I'm sure!