Absent

Oh. My. Word.

I am so so sorry for being absent a lot this week.

I know it has been forever since I've commented on your blogs and returned emails and I can only cite this reunion as my excuse!

Things have gotten crazier than I expected and I am now certain that I will need a vacation to recover from this vacation!

Obviously, Trivia Thursday didn't happen today and Favorite Things Friday will be on vaca tomorrow, too.

I will definitely be back next week and everything will be back to normal!

I miss reading all your blogs and plan to relax Monday evening doing just that!

Until then, have a great weekend!!!!

XOXO

Michael Jackson Overload

Is anyone else tired of hearing about Michael Jackson?

Well, I don't care if I'm the only person on the planet to feel this way, but I am so tired of hearing about him.

I'm over it. Like 1000% over it.

I understand his death was tragic. Is tragic.

But at some point don't you think we should quit talking about him like he is a god?

Because *news flash America* he's not.

He was a man {let me say it again in case you missed it a man} with a messed up life. A sad life. A messed up medical situation that eventually contributed to his death.

It's sad.

He was a great musician. A music icon. A man who changed the face of pop culture.

But he's been dead for almost 2 weeks and I still can't turn on the television without seeing his face, someone doing an impression of him, people signing his big poster in front of the Staples center or{most disgustingly} people accosting his family's home in Encino. I mean, seriously - what is with being at his family's home? You think because you are standing there bawling your eyes out that Katherine Jackson or the almighty Reverend Sharpton is going to roll down their window, speak to you and invite you to get in the car and be BFF with them and live in the lap of luxury for the rest of your life? Because if you think that, you need to make a turn towards the mental hospital on the way home.

It's beyond ridiculous.

So far beyond ridiculous that I can't even believe I'm talking about it on my blog!

And, as far as I'm concerned, the person I think of as Michael Jackson has been gone for a long time. He hasn't had a record out since what - 1994ish? Hello - put on his CD, record, cassette tape - whatever - it will still play.

I don't need 274526 episodes of Dateline, 48 hours, 20/20, Entertainment Tonight, Extra and Nightline to remind me that he died or to remind me that he had a music career.

Imagine if something worthwhile got this much press.

Imagine if a story of hope and harmony got this much air time.

Imagine if you could turn on your television and see Jesus' face on the screen, people praising the Son of God like they are praising this human man.

Imagine if people mourned for anyone else like they are mourning for someone they only know on television.

Help! Help! Help!

I need some help, girls!

Naturally, I turn to y'all - my blog friends are the smartest ever.

As you know, we are having a family reunion this weekend for my grandparents' 90th birthday.

As you also know, we have a lot of family coming that we haven't seen in a long freaking time.

One of these people is my cousin, my mom's nephew.

We haven't seen him in about 12 years, and as you can imagine a lot has happened in his life in that amount of time.

Most importantly to this post, he got married.

We have talked to his wife on the phone once and she was a big party to him being able to come to the reunion. She used her frequent flyer miles for him, etc.

Due to work obligations she is not able to make it, however my mom wants to get her a little gift of thanks for helping to get my cousin to Memphis for the reunion.

So, here is what we know about her, and I'll warn you - it isn't much.

*She is around 40 years old.

*They just bought a house last year.

*She works in finance.

What would you recommend as the perfect{or as close to perfect as we can get} present for her?

Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Let's Be Kids Again

Just for a minute, ok?
Let's forget about the recession, unemployment, wars, elections, popstars dying...let's just be kids.

If you were anything like me as a little girl, you loved to play dolls. I could play dolls for hours. Literally. It didn't take much to please me as a child.

Remember the FRIENDS episode with the dollhouses? Monica had one and Phoebe created her own? That's what I just felt like when I found this website.

Zoolabees is a company that caters to the little girl in all of us.
They sell hundreds of different miniatures and dollhouses.

Look at this dollhouse. How cute is that? There is a neighborhood in Memphis that has houses that look like this. They are so old and there is a lot of history in them. This house reminds me of those.

The dollhouses are just the icing on the cake, though.

They have every single kind of miniature to go in the house that you could ever imagine!

Merlot anyone?

It's chilled.

Miniature barbecue?

Look at the chandelier. They have all kinds of lighting for your dollhouse.

They even have miniature wallpaper. This toile is my favorite!

What dollhouse would be complete without a miniature family? They have all kinds of families to choose from. This is the "blonde family." Aren't they cute?

Sometimes it is so easy to get caught up in the world we live in today. Seeing the dollhouses and miniatures on the Zoolabees website reminds me of a simpler time. And I think that is something we should all be reminded of once in a while.

Today's Favorite Things Friday is going to be about my momma.

Because it's her birthday and she is my favorite thing person of all.

Ever.

Period.

My momma is the best. There really is no other way to describe her.

In true Whitney form, I've made a list about my momma.

*I love how my momma is always there for me. No matter what.



*I love my momma because she is my Speed{card game} opponent. We are obsessed with the game.



*I love my momma because she always understands me. I can say one thing and she knows I mean another.



*I love how she always leaves the protective seals on the face of her cell phone for months.

*I love dancing in the car with her.



*I love how beautiful my momma is. She has beautiful skin.



*I love how my momma has "the look" that means business. I still want to pee my pants when I see this look on her face.



*I love how much she loves her family.



*I love her endurance. She can spend the night at the hospital with my sick grandma and come home and take a shower, get dressed and spend all day volunteering at my brother's school.



*I love her passion. She never backs down from what she believes in.



*I love her singing voice. It's beautiful. She always used to sing me to sleep when I was little.



*I love how organized she is. She wins the prize.




*My mom is hilarious. This picture is when we went to Miami. She was so sleepy because our flight left at the crack of dawn and she accidentally left two different shoes on after checking which one she liked best. We discovered it at the security checkpoint in the airport.

*I love how she never puts herself first. I wish I could be as selfless as she is.

*I love how she is my reality television watch party buddy.

*I love how she can make her voice sound completely ghetto.

*I love how she always squints in pictures. This picture was the best of 523 that we tried to take.

*I love how she always makes heart shaped waffles on Valentine's Day.

*I love her confidence.

*I love her faith.

*I love her smile.

Honestly, I love everything about her. I am so incredibly blessed to have her as my mom. I don't know what I would do without her. I would probably die. She is the most amazing person I have ever known, and I strive everyday to be like her. I hope I am half the mom that she has been to me.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMA!

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

Thursday Trivia

giveaway closed

congratulations Tara from The Watermelon Tree!

It's time for someone else to win!

Last week PinkPearls&MuddySneakers took home the prize for guessing correctly that the line, "Why don't you ask the cruise director on the Lido deck?" was from Legally Blonde. One of my favorite scenes in the movie, seriously.

The photo in last weeks trivia post was actually taken when I took a day cruise from Miami to the Bahamas. I was dying that I found something that actually said 'Lido' on it so I made my mom take a picture with me pointing to it. I'm so easily amused.

Anyway.

Here we go again.

Remember the rules:

*Only one guess.

*All the correct guesses go in a hat.

*I draw one - that one is the winner.

Sound good?

Then let's go!

I kept it movie themed again this week. What movie is this line from?

"Attitude reflects leadership - captain."

Put your thinking caps on!

go!

Bookworm

Currently Reading:

American Wife by: Curtis Sittenfeld

Finished Reading:

Alphabet Weekends by: Elizabeth Noble

I'm actually lying. I didn't really finish this one per se. It was completely boring to me.

Nerd in Shining Armor by: Vicki Lewis Thompson

Do not let your 90 year old grandmother read this. Just trust me on this one.

The Wives of Bath by: Wendy Holden

I was satisfied with this. While it wasn't the best book I've ever read, it was entertaining and had it's moments. It had a slow start, though so you must give it a proper chance.

BitteristheNewBlack by: Jen Lancaster

Great book! Loved it!

Visit the authors blog here.

No More Mondays by: Dan Miller

A must read if you are having doubts about your career. Or even if you aren't. Whatev.



Fine China is for Single Women Too by: Lydia Brownback

I loved this book. It really made me look at being single a different way.

Redeeming Love by: Francine Rivers

Basically one of the best books in the history of the book.

Remember Me by: Sophie Kinsella

Loved the premise of this. Was a tad disappointed in the ending, but it was good.