Breaking for Cuteness

I am behind on posting. Again. Such is life.

But... what better way to pay restitution than with cute baby pictures, right?

I know, I know, nothing tops dogs in scarves and football jerseys, but bear with me...

Like a month ago I babysat my niece while my brother went to the first game of the season. She and I had a grand time. We went for a stroll - once on foot and once in a stroller. Then we set up an obstacle course in the living room with stuffed animals and drove the stroller around them. Then we decided it would be way more fun if drove over the stuffed animals with the stroller, and boy howdy, was that ever hilarious.

Then she just hung out in the stroller because apparently its comfy.

We watched a lot more football that day than any toddler should be allowed, but I think it was educational. She learned to clap on first down and when boys in orange jerseys got knocked down she would say "uh-oh" and cover her eyes. Fast learner, that one. After watching the three games after that, I'd say "uh-oh" might just cover our season as a whole. We'll see. I'm trying to have faith.

But really, how could you not want to win with such an adorable fan? Am I right?

She looks so much like my brother in this last picture it's almost disturbing. I kept expecting her to finish that look by rolling her eyes and calling me a butt-head.

Happy Wednesday. Go Vols.

A Simpler Place in Time

Happy Birthday today to Gladys Knight. I don't know much about you, Gladys, except that you are responsible for singing one of the greatest songs in the history of the world.

That song is also responsible for one of my favorite moments of Will & Grace. When Will and Grace get a bit sidetracked trying to work up the courage to confess to Sandra Bernhart that they never were interested in buying her apartment and just used it as an excuse to meet her.

It's also one of the many songs my brother and I would sing along to when we were little, standing in front of the fireplace, pretending it was a stage. We often thought we were going to be the next Donnie and Marie. Although on this tune, somehow, I always ended up as a Pip...

I got to spend a lot of time with my brother and my niece this past weekend and at 16 months she's already quite the ham. I see many fireplace hearth-turned-stage productions in her future and hopefully she'll let us at least sing back-up. So Gladys, with any luck, maybe by this time next year I'll be a Pip again.

Happy Birthday.

February Madness

Kentucky served my beloved Vols quite a beating on Saturday. At least I had some good company to witness the carnage. You might remember her from here and here.

"Go Vols!"

"Oh no! Eight minutes in and we still haven't scored!"
"When will it end?!? Just please let us lose by less than 20 points!"

"We lost by 19... but hey, look how cute I am in this shirt!"

Summer Lovin' Week 1

"Had Me a Blast"

Never one to turn down a good song title or lyric from Grease, I have dubbed my little summer photo essay project / attempt to better appreciate my surroundings during this unfortunate of seasons, "Summer Lovin'." My plan is for a new installment each week until the temperature drops enough to comfortably cover my upper arm fat wear long sleeves again. Or Halloween. Whichever Global Warming allows to happen first.

For Week One we borrow from the ever-glorious musical movie Grease once again and pay tribute to the 4th of July. (Yes, I'm behind a week. Already.)

In Nashville, if you're into crowds and the smell of sweaty polyester, one option is to go downtown to the river and watch the fireworks. All smart-assed-ness aside, my town does a great job with July 4th - in part because the whole thing is scored live and in person by the Nashville Symphony. Our symphony sounds fantastic under normal circumstance, but sounding fantastic while playing on a barge, in the heat, on the river, while being bombarded with bugs and having rockets launched behind their heads takes a certain level of skill.

The 4th of July is also a fun time in my family. My mother and stepfather live in the same part of the city as I do, but even closer to downtown, so it's a good spot for the 4th. But it's also their anniversary. And while they would probably enjoy going somewhere just the two them, they usually have various family and friends over instead. Some might question their logic, but I think its because they know my brother and I both have keys to their house and would just have people over anyway, so really it's more of an insurance policy on their part than anything...

To see the fireworks it's usually best to walk around the corner from their house - or even a couple of blocks over to our church. Last year it was so unbelievably, miserably, and disgustingly hot (at 9:30 at night!) that when asked if everyone was ready to head out to watch the festivities, my pregnant sister-in-law and I said "Meh. We'll just sit here and watch it on TV." But this year, THIS YEAR, the weather was not only gorgeous, but the powers that be decided to launch the fireworks from a little further down the river. Perhaps an unsuspecting tuba player was singed last year. I don't know. I just know that I stepped out onto my mother's front porch and into a perfect view of Independence Day as I'm sure our founding fathers and mothers intended. No traffic. No shirt-less mullet-ed men. No coolers to drag around. No smell of carnival food. No sweat. God bless America.

Cast of Characters

I don't know that much more needs to be said about me - at least for the time being - than what's in the "About Me" section already. And Lord knows I don't feel compelled to post a picture of myself... so let's move on, shall we...

I share my home - a very small 1930's cottage - with two lunatic canines. And while I'm not the kind of dog owner that refers to herself as their "mommy," I'm sure I talk about my dogs, Elsie and Oliver, as though they're my children way more than my friends with actual children appreciate.

But I will have to say that living with my two dogs - as much as I do love them - IS a lot like living with two teenagers. Elsie spends a good bit of her day telling me all that I've done incorrectly, ratting out Oliver, bossing Oliver around, rolling her eyes (I swear she does this) and looking at you like you're stupid. Oliver, on the other hand, is a bit thick-headed, smells bad, just wants to sleep on the couch, is always hungry, makes a big mess when he eats and pretends he can't hear me when I call his name. Their differences in personality make for some good entertainment and I guess I'm just lucky they can't drive - although I'm convinced Elsie would try if given enough time in the car unsupervised. Here's a little more about them:

Name: Elsinore (Elsie)
Breed: Part Border Collie
Nicknames: Elsifur, Devil Dog, Frog Dog, Evil Genius, Town Crier, Wooly Dog
Hobbies: Herding (kids, cats, socks, whatever); Tricking Oliver out of his toy, treat, bed, chair, etc.
Life Goal: World Domination

Name: Oliver
Breed: Some sort of hound but with a long silky coat and big collar of white fur (and so the first of his nicknames).
Nicknames: Pimped-Out Hound, Pony Boy, Bubbles, Archie Bunker, Five-Second-Delay, Squirrel Whisperer
Hobbies: Napping in the old green armchair; Trying to get stuff back from Elsie
Life Goal: Overcome Fear of the Stopwatch on "60 Minutes"