Silent Saturday 1

There's this whole Wordless Wednesday thing that many of you blog peeps participate in and I love it! I think it's a great way to encourage us bloggers to express ourselves visually rather than with words, as we usually do.

But, of course, I try not to be a joiner. I want to be different. So, instead of participating in Wordless Wednesday, I'm going to start my own Silent Saturday movement.

So, enough of that. On to the picture. Enjoy!

Happy Duck

As you've all seen on my blog over the last few days, it's been rough here at CofaCMG. Many tears, many hurt feelings, and a quickly-deleted comment from a blog troll that pretty much brought me to my knees.

See, I know that opening myself up on the Internet with information on my life, my ideas, my emotions can also open me up to those who get off on making others miserable. The people who hate for hate's sake (and we've been over this before, so you know my stance on this) are out there and I'm ready for it.

I'm just not ready for the commenter who hits way below the belt using half-assed information in a misguided attempt to stand up for their peep and bring me down. That? Ain't cool.

But, what I realized through all of this, through all the miscommunication, through all the stress and tears, is that I have the sweetest children. I tried not to cry in front of them. Really, I did. I walked into another room or just held it in. But just once, Miss-Miss saw my tears. She turned around and came back a moment later with this:


She patted me on the back and said, "Here, Mama. Feel better." In one selfless moment, my little girl did make it all better, just by being herself.

I'll never sell that duck in a yard sale.

Until I Figure Stuff Out..

... I give you this. I'm shaking my head because I can't believe I used to watch this cartoon. And I can't believe I'd probably watch it again if given the opportunity. Click away, now, please. For the love of God.

Comma

Dear Readers,
I love you all. Each and every day your comments and your blogs make me laugh and feel like I'm still part of the world. The world outside my leaded glass door, my suburban cul-de-sac, my life.

The last 24 hours have left me speechless and utterly helpless to change the train wreck that has occurred.

I can't explain to you, right now, what is happening. That is for later. What I can tell you is that physically, I'm fine.

Emotionally? I'm a wreck.

Ty-man is great. Bubba, Miss-Miss, and J-man are well, good, and wreaking havoc as per usual.

Me? I can't write. I can't emote. I can't find the creative energy to even type a halfway-amusing, coherent sentence.

Please, bear with me. I'll be back. Tomorrow? Thursday? Next Monday? Sooner rather than later? I don't know, but I will be back.

Just don't ask me for a date.

Love, Heather

Friends and Loved Ones

We didn't go on our anniversary trip alone. Nay! We went with our great friends Toni and John.

Toni and I are sorority sisters and old college roommates. We've known each other for 14 years and I waited 12 of those years to see Toni happily settled with someone special. And John? Oh, yeah. He's that kind of special:


That's John. On the last day of our trip. After a couple of beers and a rum runner that was all rum and no runner. Coupled with the sun and one too many fish fingers with fries? You get a very. Special. Husband. For Toni.

I had always threatened to send Toni to Space Camp if she didn't find the right man. I figured if I had found my special someone there, why couldn't she? Lucky for her, she found John without the geek-fest. The only thing that upset me about their twosome was their wedding date - last year on May 27th, on our 12th anniversary. That? Made me giggle with glee. What made me sad was that was one day before J-man's due date and, in the end, two weeks after he was born. Me? Traveling to Brunswick, Georgia? Two weeks after giving birth? A five hour drive? Me and the little one?

Wasn't. Gonna. Happen.

I cried most of the day. I was a sniveling, worthless mess of a breast-feeding mom who couldn't be there at her best friend's wedding.

But? I got the best part of the whole deal because the four of us celebrated our anniversaries in the Caribbean. And John? It feels like we've known him for as long as we've known Toni.

Drunken coconut rum "I love you"-s all around!

What I Learned On My Vacation

• Antigua is a beautiful island. I want to go back. Tomorrow. Please?
• I really like coconut rum. Really. I think I'm going to start adding it to my morning coffee, my afternoon Diet Coke, and my Cheerios. Yeah.
• My particular brand of A-positive is quite tasty to Antiguan mosquitoes. Little bitches.
• Antigua? Wasn't going to be called Antigua. It was going to be Wadadli. Isn't that the coolest word? If Ty-man and I ever get surprised with a 4th offspring? We'll name it Wadadli. Boy or girl. Seriously.
  
• Island time? Drives me nuts. Even when I'm on vacation.
• I could so start driving on the left side of the road. It's cool! I might start doing that this week. Can't catch me, copper!
  
• Sandals knows the resort business. Pamper. Spoil. "Would you like another drink, ma'am?" I wanna go back! Wahhhhhhh!
  
• Coconut rum punch. Coconut rum runners. Coconut rum Earl Grey tea. Coconut rum bottled water...
  
• SPF 30 just isn't enough to keep my pale, white self from getting burnt.
• Before my next Sandals vacation I need to lose about 15 pounds, not so that I'll look great in a bikini but so that those 15 pounds I gain in the one week on vacation there doesn't faze me.
• It is possible for Ty-man and I to have meaningful conversations that don't involve talk of children. Or talking over children, for that matter.
  
• And? It is possible for us to have sex! After 13 years! Lots!
  
• Yum. Coconut rum. Can that be spread on PB&J sandwiches? Would that make it a PBJ&CR sandwich?
  
• Even though the cold and flu season traditionally ends April 15th, our kids can and did contract the croup, two with doctor's office/emergency room visits while we were gone.
• It's possible for me to feel extremely guilty over said incidents and for a family member to make me feel even worse about it once I came home. Um... yeah.
  
• Every danged bride, bride-wanna-be, never-gonna-be-a-bride, chick, at that danged resort had a French manicure. Ish. Except for me. Polish-free, baby!
• Except for my toes. Berry Rich - it's my shade.
• I'm going to start running/walking again tomorrow, working on that 15-pound loss for the next vacation weight-gain marathon. Who knew coconut rum could be so fattening?
  
• DAMN! Coconut rum! Woo hoo!

We Pause for a Commercial Break...

Guys. This is serious. You know my fellow blog diva Miss Britt? Her family needs our help.

Remember that F-4 tornado that struck Iowa a week ago today? I've been out of the loop and hadn't heard about it until yesterday. Well, the tornado struck her hometown of Parkersburg, Iowa. Her mother's- and father's-in-law house? Gone. Same for the house of her brother-in-law and his family. They are all effectively homeless. Britt, Jared, and the kids are on their way back home to Florida after going up, assessing the damage, and helping with clean-up and from what I've read on her site, it's all gone. The houses, the clothes, the books, those can all be replaced. The pictures? The keepsakes? Gone. Forever.

Britt's family, her entire hometown, needs our help. Guys, please, just take a minute, go to one of the following sites (or both) and make a donation. This is the best way to help - short of driving there ourselves and picking up the pieces. Thanks.

American Red Cross

Salvation Army