ladies night.

blogging & social media is pretty damn fantastic, isn't it?  

when i started my blog back in 2007, i was writing for me. i didn't think it would lead to some amazing connections & friendships.  seriously, i have been blessed with perhaps the most awesome group of girlfriends...ever.  and, i owe it all to my computer.  ha!

{picture hijacked from the workaholic momma - thanks, j!}

bottom row {left to right}: how i met my edo, diary of a domestic failure, jim & katie plus baby, in no simple language

top row {left to right}: c'est moi, beach bum & baby, whitney caroline designs, naturally caffeinated family & the workaholic momma

aside from beach bum and baby & the workaholic momma {who are bff's in real life}, we all met thanks to blogging & twitter.  katie is the newest gal in our circle & she is the cutest mama-to-be ever!  

as usual, we had a great time.  lots of laughing, lots of chit-chat and even some rapping courtesy of whitney {who knew she could recite every. single. word. to rappers delight??}.  we all lead such busy lives & don't get to see each other often, but i truly cherish the times when we do get a chance to get together.  i've said it once and i'll say it again...i'm truly blessed to have these gals in my life.  they are everything a friend should be...and more. 

to relive our first date, click here.

to relive our anniversary dinner, click here.

Virginia is for bloggers.

I am quite excited about an upcoming event that has been planned by the lovely Lis of Lis Loves.

The first ever SE Virginia Blogger Meet-Up!

Pretty exciting stuff, huh?? Lis & I had the opportunity to meet earlier this year when she won one of my bloggy birthday giveaways. Because she & I live in the same city, we decided to meet at Starbucks {where else??} in the mall and I hand-delivered her prize! It was such a fun time...we chit-chatted non-stop.

Anyways, she's been busy planning a little get-together for us Southeastern Virginia {and Northeastern NC} gals. It looks like Friday, October 30th is the date. The time & location has YET to be determined, but one thing is for certain...Virginia Beach's Town Center is not going to know what hit them when the ladies of the blogosphere descend upon it's sidewalks!

{source}

I have the nicest friends...

It's always nice to get a big ole cyber-hug from time to time...this time, it was my friend, Becca, who was tooting my horn. It was nice seeing her over the weekend...even if it was only a brief visit that consisted mostly of us eating the best frozen custard ever!

Visit from My Shell

Now go read her blog...she's got a knack for finding deals!

COMMENTS = FREE PHOTO!

So, a really dear friend of mine, J.G., lives down in Pensacola, FL with her hubs & her cute lil' son, G, and they recently had a photo shoot with Monica Brown. Can I just say that I'm really jealous that J.G. is already wearing sleeveless blouses and capris?! (Hello spring...where are you and why did I have to scrape my windshield this morning???)

Anyway, let's help J.G. win a free print from Monica Brown:

From Three to Four

Check out the awesome pics that Monica took -- I would totally LOVE for her to be the photog for my family!! After you're doing "ooohing" & "aaahing" over Lil' G and how cute J.G.'s preggo belly is make sure you leave a comment (you'll see where after the pictures) to let Monica know just how wonderful everything is! If J.G. gets 25 comments, then she's a winner!!

Ack, again!

OK, so I'm really nervous. Flattered, but nervous. I have been asked by Jenny over at
MomLogic to be one of their featured bloggers over at the MomLogic Coffee Club.

Whoa.

Seriously, people...up until a week ago this blog was just another blog lost in the land of blogs. I wasn't doing it for recognition. I wasn't doing it for a few minutes of fame. I was just doing it because I felt I had to. This mind of mine was going to explode back in 2007 if I didn't start getting stuff out of it and that was really what started my blogging journey. I'm not a writer by any stretch of the imagination and I think that sometimes I write about some meaningless stuff. But, I suppose if I'm putting it all out there then I am a writer of some sort and I'm not as meaningless as I think I am.

Anyway...

To me, this is huge. Yes, I put my blog out there on a few networks -- mostly in hopes of increasing my blog traffic and "meeting" other blogging mommas out there. I'm not gonna lie -- the buttons & widgets are cool too. But, wow, to have someone actually recognize my blog and ask me to choose a post that I would like to share with a gazillion other mommies (and daddies...yes, there are some daddies over at MomLogic)....ack!

I'm not going to turn away this opportunity...no sir. I think the hardest part is just accepting that someone likes what I'm doing and I should be recognized for it. That's pretty damn cool. Oh, but the stress of choosing a blog entry! There are so many...and so many seem so lame to me! I know, I know...I'm probably being too modest and I'm just stressing myself out over nothing.

1-2-3...BREATHE

So...what have I go to lose? NOTHING! What do I have to gain? EVERYTHING! Wish me luck as I scour the "SS" for the perfect blog entry to share with my fellow mommas over at the coffee club.

The Voice of Reason

Said no. Or, that I shouldn't.

http://www.cache.com/cache/control/product/~category_id=0120/~product_id=05044B22040411

It's so pretty...and it looks so good on. And it only needs minor alterations (the straps would need to be taken in just a bit so it's an easy alteration). And it would work with my black peep toe pumps and black clutch.

Needless to say, I decided NOT to have my ball gown altered & dry cleaned on the fly -- the price alone (which I'm not even sure of) scares me. I mean, to rush something like that would cost extra. There's no doubt in my mind about that.

So, for now I'm going to drop my other two dresses off at the dry cleaners and just go with it. I have a feeling I'll purchase the dress despite what my voice of reason says...maybe. We'll see.

Don't be hatin'!

That's right.

In 18 days, I'll be here:

That's a picture I took from one of my last visits to the Hilton Cancun Golf & Spa Resort. It's from 2005, so the hotel has changed a little bit since then. Adam and I spent one drunken night there this past September when we visited his father for the day since we were all in Mexico at the same time. While Adam and I prefer spending our days on the beach in Playa del Carmen (about 45 minutes south of Cancun), I am no dummy and will NOT pass up a free vacation -- well, mini vacation (we're only going for the weekend).

I'm excited about this impromptu trip. Adam and I just cancelled our March Mexico trip. We just couldn't swing it with work, finances, etc...well, we COULD, but work would have been the problem. But, like they say, when one door closes, another one opens and, in this case, when one vacation is cancelled, another one is booked! :)

I have a feeling that Adam and I will be heading south for a day while we're down there. We can't go to Mexico without saying HOLA to our friends in Playa del Carmen...not when we would be so close. I'm just excited to get away. The trip is just FOUR days after our anniversary (aww) and we'll be going with Adam's father (he's the best!) and our friends, Catrina & Fred (their first visit to Mexico ever!).

Yikes...I guess now it's time to do my water fast, exercise a little and figure out all I'm going to cram in my carry-on. :)

Yogi Tea thought for the day before yesterday :)

Attached to my tea bag on Tuesday was this saying:

"Recognize that the other person is you."

That's some food for thought, huh? I think I've realized this one with "my person" -- she knows who she is! :)

And what are you thankful for?

On Wednesday night during our drive to my parents house, Adam and I asked the kids what they were thankful for. Malia's response was short, sweet, simple and to the point -- her family & her friends. When we asked Aidan, he thought for a moment and replied...

MY GIRLFRIENDS.

And, when asked how many girlfriends he had, he replied, "A hundred of them."

Happy Thanksgiving!