Just Like Mom

My mom is the busiest person I know. She puts her family and loved ones before herself, always. I've gotten in more than a few arguments with her over her never-ending list of 'to-dos' for other people...especially when she's feeling under the weather.

A few years ago when she had her gallbladder removed, she was forced to take some time off...doctor's orders, no ifs, ands or buts about it. As soon as she felt good enough to walk to the bathroom, she figured she could vacuum and dust the entire house. (Because, that's totally the same thing as getting up to pee!) I fussed with her...she said 'I know, I know' and continued on about her day. (Noting not to tell me the next time she vacuumed.)

My whole life I've been told how much I resemble my father, from my physical appearance to my accent. But today I realized, I'm exactly like my mother.

I can't sleep, no matter how sick I am, if the trash can is full, if the sink is full of dirty dishes or if the floor has not been swept.

I stayed home all day yesterday for the first time since we moved into our new home. (Feeding horses 15 minutes away from our house twice a day keeps me quite busy- but I wouldn't change it for the world.) I stayed home because I had a touch of strep/throat infection and bronchitis. My daddy refused to let me venture out into the below-freezing temperatures to feed my boys so my body could get enough rest to get well.

I watched movies with Little Miss- but suddenly couldn't focus on Cinderella because I knew the cat's litter hadn't been scooped since the previous night...somehow when I returned to the couch, I'd not only cleaned out the litterbox, but the whole bathroom, my bedroom & the playroom. I mean, I had all this time on my hands...I needed to put it to good use!

Mom, you are the only person in the entire world that I aspire to be like...even when I don't mean to. You are my hero...and I love being just like you.

Oh, North Carolina

North Carolina is full of mailboxes...
...roads less traveled...with lots of flower gardens...

...bird houses waiting for little girls to fill them with seeds...

...fun places to pretend you're a fairy-princess...

...wild grapes- that taste amazing...

...and Grandaddy's who are tall enough to pick them, and feed them to their grand kids.

...North Carolina- you're no big city of dreams...but you're everything in between.

Ponzer, NC

Storm & I (and lots of other horses and horse folk) spent all day Saturday in Ponzer, NC. What is in Ponzer, you might ask? Nothing. A gas station, appropriately named "The Store", lots of farm land, hunting camps and a little trail ride we decided to attend.

It was the 3rd Annual "Thumbs Up" trail ride- we quickly found out just before taking the trails. Our "trail boss" held her hand up, as if to do the thumbs up sign...but had no thumb. She explained that the first year they hosted the ride, she lost her thumb. Glad we're starting on a positive note, I thought to myself.

Sometimes you just have to rock out with your spurs out...

This is part of our group- waiting for our thumbless trail boss...something we did most of the ride.

One of my favorite parts of the ride was taking the horses out into the Intracoastal Waterway for a swim. Here are some of my favorite gals letting their horses cool off in the waterway.

Mandy & I- taking a self portrait while our horses were stuffing their bellies.
(Thanks for being such a great friend, Mandy! ♥ you!)

After the ride we took the horses all the way out into the waterway for a real swim. Storm & I were both drenched from our heads to our toes/hooves. It is an incredible feeling to have a horse trust you enough to take swimming- to feel him swim under your body. Only real horse people would understand the adrenaline rush you get the first time. :)

Storm's previous owners attended the trail ride, as well. They were amazed at all we (me & him) have accomplished over the last few months.

*I will post more pictures as I get them...there is one that I'm dying to see of me, Storm, Mandy & Ace in the waterway while a huge sailboat passes us.

An Annigrocery

Yesterday was my parent's 25th wedding anniversary...or annigrocery, as Little Miss calls it. My dad and I started planning weeks ago for this special day. My parents are so funny- the last couple years both of them totally forgot their anniversary until almost a month had past. I made certain that wasn't going to happen this year. ;)

The day started off by surprising my mom with flowers at work and whisking her away to the spa for an afternoon of total relaxation. (God knows she needed it- they're preparing for their yearly inspection at the daycare & she's running around like a chicken with her head cut off.) After her spa visit, she came home to find a gorgeous and delicious anniversary cake waiting for her. (I would post a picture, but we cut into that bad boy before I could grab my camera- it was lovely though.)

We all went out to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, 1587. One more surprise was in store for my mom- a big one! I'm terrible at keeping secrets- so I've been avoiding my mom for days for fear that I would tourettes-style scream "DADDY SIZED MAMA TRIXIE'S RINGS TO FIT YOUR FINGER and IS GIVING THEM TO YOU AT DINNER ON YOUR ANNIVERSARY!!" So I breathed a huge sigh of relief when my dad placed the little box on the table at the restaurant and asked, "Would you do it all again, honey?"

Classy restaurant? Psh.

My mom was shocked, but still had no clue what was inside. In fact, it took my dad explaining exactly what rings were staring back at her- for her to realize how special they really were.

*notice who has both rings...

"Bub, will you marry me, too?"

Annigrocery Bling ;)

You see- my great-grandmother, Trixie "engaged" my parents. They'd been dating for several months and Mama Trixie (my dad's grandmother) decided it was time for them to get married. So, at a family function- she'd pinned a diamond ring that her late-husband had made for her to the inside of her gown. After dinner, she called my mom back to her smoking room and gave it to her. (It caused somewhat of an uproar in the family b/c she gave it to my mom and neither of her daughters.) When Mama Trixie died, she left my father her wedding set...but my grandmother kept it until she passed away last year. When my dad finally got the rings that were left to him some twenty years ago, he put them on a chain and wore them around his neck- until last week when we took them to have them sized.

Congratulations, Mom & Dad! :)

Gay Gray Squirel

One of Little Miss's most favorite songs goes a little something like this...

"Gray squirrel, gray squirrel- shake your fuzzy tail...
Wrinkle up your little nose...
Put a nut between your toooes...
Gray squirrel, gray squirrel- shake your fuzzy tail..."

My mom taught it to her- I, personally think it's a nasty little song. Anyway...

While walking through the yard, my mom (who was ahead of Little Miss & I) saw a very dead, gray squirrel. So she said, "Keep Little Miss over that way- this gray squirrel has lost his fuzzy tail..."

Well, we decided it was a cute story to tell over dinner to my dad. (What? You don't talk about dead squirrels during dinner? Strange.)

I tell my dad the exact story above...and notice during the whole story he's looking at me so oddly.

"And you didn't want her to see the squirrel..." he says.

"No, we thought it might be a little traumatic for her," I told him.

"Uh huh...because he was gay?" he said, being absolutely serious.

"No! Because he was dead!!" I said.

"Well, how'd you know he was gay?!!?"

"GRAY!!"

"Ohhh...that makes more sense."

Oh, Daddy.