Four

No, this isn't some post about the dreamy love interest in Divergent. Though, the book has been on my mind a lot, even though I read it over a year ago, so I might write something about it later. 

I titled this "Four" because that's how many years I've been married as of today.

Four years??? Sheesh. Wasn't I just going on my first date yesterday?

I know four years isn't really long (except by Hollywood standards), but at the same time, my mind is having a hard time wrapping around the fact that Eric and I promised to spend eternity with each other 1461 days ago. It's just that I remember that day so vividly that it could have been just last week! And yet, it's hard to remember a time in my life that Eric wasn't there. It seems we've always had each other.

Anyway, I decided to recap the last four years of bliss - where we started, what we've been doing, and where we are now.

YEAR 1

Eric and I got hitched May 22, 2009, the same year we both graduated college from Brigham Young University - Idaho. I used to have people ask me why I didn't go to BYU in Utah since I was accepted there as well. The answer may seem weak to you, and maybe it even did to me at the time, but it's very simple: I felt that I should. Lo and behold, in my senior year, who comes bouncing into my life? Several awesome roommates I still love to this day! And, of course, my sweet, sweet Eric. After marrying, we moved to Ringgold, Georgia, for a couple of months until we found employment, which took us back to my hometown in Montgomery, Alabama. 

YEAR 2

Eric has opened so many new doors for me since we got married. I've tried so many new things I never thought I'd do because of him! Like, say, running a half marathon. I know, right? A NeSmith, running an actual race? Don't hide in your bomb shelters. The end of the world isn't nigh quite yet. Technically, the half happened right at the end of year 1 (Mar 2010), but I'll loop it into year 2. I also finished writing my first novel with Eric's sister and another by myself several months later. HUGE milestone for me! I've since completed The Acquisition, currently on sale, which would make an excellent read for anyone wanting to celebrate mine and Eric's anniversary. This year also brought some disappointment. Eric wasn't accepted into PT school, for reasons we could never figure out, and we found out having children wasn't going to come easily for us (but that's another long, long, personal story). Since PT school never worked out, we stayed in Montgomery.

YEAR 3

Nothing too monumental happened during our third year (until the end). I continued working as a math teacher at one of the magnet middle schools in town. Eric continued working at a PT clinic. We still weren't blessed with any children. In fact, that whole process was very time-demanding and, oh, the emotions involved! I pray no one ever has to go through infertility treatments. Thinking our life was meant to be in Montgomery, we started looking to buy a house. Eric was promoted at work and was making more money, I still had a solid job with great benefits, so we felt comfortable settling down. We even found a really cute 3 bed/2 bath home that had me drooling! Days away from deciding to go for it, a major light appeared at the end of the tunnel. Days before our third anniversary, we learned that Eric's dream was finally going to come true! He was accepted into PT school, and we were moving to Florida.

YEAR 4

Florida is hot, humid, and wet. And lots and lots of bugs. A plethora of lizards. And home to the biggest dragonflies I've ever seen. Yet, the beach is 30-45 minutes from our home, I've met some wonderful people, and I've found even more time to write! This move has been very emotional and hard and wonderful and every other emotion you can think of, but it's all been worth it. We even survived a Georgia/Alabama football game, which, let me tell you, was NOT fun! Recently, Eric just completed his first year as a PT student (which means I only have to work for 3 more!), we have wonderful doctors who are helping us become parents, and most importantly, moving away from our families to such a foreign place has brought us so much closer. I love this man dearly, and I can't wait to see what year 5 (and forever) has in store for us!

Ok, I just threw this one in because it makes me laugh every time I see it. 

Throwback Thursday

I've been thinking a lot about my childhood lately. Maybe it's the homesickness, the longing to be surrounded by people and places I love, or maybe it's the fact that I can now say I have clear memories from twenty years ago.

TWENTY YEARS AGO.

Only adults can say that. But wait! I am an adult. And sometimes, I wonder how that happened. I swear it was just yesterday that I was getting my license and taking to the road all by myself. And by yesterday, I guess I mean ten years ago. I mean, I know twenty-six isn't old by any stretch of the imagination. I certainly don't feel old. In fact, I still feel like a twitterpated seventeen-year-old. 

Thus, I decided to dedicate Thursday as my Throwback day. Remember the good times. To kickstart this endeavor, I present to you one of my all-time favorite shows as a kid. Ladies and gentlemen, Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?

Remember this show? I adored it. But I there was some serious anger coursing through me when the final map wasn't the United States. How the heck was an eight-year-old girl supposed to know the countries in the Middle East? Even still, this was a personal favorite. 

What TV shows do you remember from your childhood?

'Til we meet again

Today marks three years since Papaw passed away, and yet I still walk into Pamaw's house expecting to hear, "Oh, you beautiful doll! You great, big, beautiful doll!"

That was the song he'd sing every time I walked in. (Sorry, Laura. I guess we were both his dolls.) The Sunday before he passed, he got up, dressed, went to church, just like he did every Sunday. At that point in time, he'd been battling cancer for four months. We knew it was bad, we knew it was a matter of time, but the man could still get around. Er...somewhat. He wasn't homebound just yet. But later that week, he slipped into a peaceful coma and passed away late at night the following Sunday. And actually, his nurse didn't get there until just after midnight, so his official death date was Monday, April 26th. Oh, how he liked to make it tricky!

So, here's to you, Papaw! It's the greatest blessing in the world to know we will all be together again one day!

For those that want to hear the song, click here. Truth be told, I'd never heard the song until I looked it up.

Cheaper by the Dozen

Yesterday morning, I awoke early (not uncommon) and watched the movie Cheaper By The Dozen while I got ready for my busy day. It was on TV, I hadn't seen it in awhile, and since I was having some serious Smallville withdrawals, I figured I could curb them by watching Tom Welling as the oldest son in the Baker family. While I did have some major flashbacks to season four of Smallville while watching Welling play football, I had other thoughts while watching the movie, thoughts that almost had me in tears. 

First, if you aren't familiar with the movie CBTD, let me sum it up for you. Steve Martin, Baker dad, gets a new football coaching job that moves his family to a new, suburban place where they just don't fit in. Meanwhile, Bonnie Hunt, Baker mom, publishes a book and goes on tour to promote it, leaving her eleven children at home under the care of their father, who is unfortunately absent most of the time because of his new job. The oldest of the total twelve children lives with her boyfriend and comes to help out (I really don't care for this part of the story). The movie ends with Mom returning, the family coming together to overcome a crisis, and all ends happy.

Yes, the movie has some cheesy parts (it's a kid movie, after all). Yes, the movie is unbelievable in many scenes. But I was entertained throughout. I laughed. I smiled. I enjoyed myself. 

But there's this one scene when Mom realizes she needed to get home to her family, and suddenly the whole point of the movie became clear to me. 

Family is everything.

Dad did everything he could do to provide for his family and be there for his kids when they needed him. While he did the best he could, he needed a partner. He couldn't do it alone. When Mom left, even though it was only for two weeks, the house kind of fell apart. I remember the rare times that my mom was unavailable for some reason or another, and Dad was on dinner duty. Usually this resulted in a quick drive to the nearest KFC or a brief call to Domino's. Our shoes were probably left in the living room, we probably left the TV on too long, but we didn't have anyone to cry to when our day at school was bad, and I certainly didn't have anyone to talk to about the cute boy I was crushing on at the time. Bottom line, we still needed Mom.

Mom was our rock. When she was happy, the house was happy. If she was mad, the house was mad. Funny how one person can be so dynamic. On the more common occasions that Dad was unavailable, Mom would step in to fill his shoes as best she could. We'd still eat  homemade dinners, the house would be a little cleaner, but we wouldn't have a pitcher to hit some softballs with, and we certainly didn't someone to talk about all things Harry Potter. Bottom line, we still needed Dad.

The movie just helped me realize how valuable my mom and my dad are individually. I wish all kids could grow up with parents as talented, well-rounded, funny, and strong as I did, but in today's world, where family is slowly deteriorating, that's not as common as I wish it could be. In fact, I think many problems involving public education could be solved if students could have more support at home (but that's another post for another day). That's why I resolve right now to be the best mom my kids have ever seen. True, I don't have kids yet, but one day I will. And I'll make them put their shoes away, turn the TV off when it's been on too long, make them dinner every night most nights (let's just be honest here - sometimes dinner is just a phone call away), and make sure to kiss their father when I know they're watching. Eric will be there to toss the Frisbee with them (and I'll be there for when he accidentally hits them in the forehead, which will inevitably happen I'm sure), tickle them until happy tears run down their cheeks, talk Avatar: The Last Airbender with them (actually, I'll do that too), and be there for them on the rare occasion I can't be. 

Because that's what parents do, right?

August 1978

January 2013 - Only missing Eric :(

No, no, it's me, not Jack Sparrow.

All I've wanted for three years now is a new strand of pearls. Real pearls. Something to make me feel elegant. 

Not like the strand I bought at Walmart when I was 19 (that I still have). But hey, who knew that $5 investment would last over 7 years? I certainly didn't.  But you know what my sweet husband bought me for Christmas? Yup. You guessed it.

Pens. Multi-colored clicky pens. 

And a sparkling, shiny perfectly polished strand of pearls. Every southern girl's dream! Oh, I looked elegant. I sparkled! I radiated! 'Bless your heart' and 'puttin' on the dog' became much more common phrases around our home. But like all good things, it had to end. I did the unthinkable.

I lost them. 

I still don't like to think of it. I'm still fuming. I only enjoyed those beauties for a month! And I still don't know what happened to them.

Weeks passed. Before I knew it, my birthday warranted another gift-giving extravaganza. After school that day, Eric presented me with another long, narrow white box. I giggled in response. I knew immediately I'd gotten my pearls back!

And I did. BUT. They weren't the right color or size strand. Unbeknownst to me, Eric took them back to surprise me with the kind I really wanted. Just two days ago, he presented me with another white box yet again. When he pulled them out, I gasped in amazement.

THEY. WERE. PERFECT.

I could FINALLY retire my Walmart pearls. Those suckers actually broke years ago, but I jimmy-rigged them to stay hooked. I waited until today to wear the new strand because I had the perfect outfit to wear with them. 

Ladies, you know what I mean. 

I only had them around my neck for 10 seconds when they fell off. Silly me. I must not have clasped it all the way! I put them on again. They fell off again. I put them on...they fell off...

NOOOO!!!!!!!

Not again! Thus, we must venture back to the store to return my pearls. I'm fairly certain the curse of the pearl belongs to me, not Jack Sparrow.

::Sigh:: Until then, I have my good ol' trusty Walmart strands to tide me over. 

Get it for FREE!

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it is my pleasure to announce that starting tomorrow, April 5th, you can download The Acquisition on your Kindle for FREE!

No, you read it right. For Free!

But this promotion only lasts until Saturday, so that only leaves TWO DAYS to take advantage of this deal.

The reason for this deal is because I've made some pretty major edits to it, and I'd love for those that already purchased the book to read the changes without having to purchase it all over again. Thus, if you haven't bought the book already, you should take advantage!

Happy reading!

P.S. Feel free to leave an awesome (honest) review on Amazon if you'd like. Or follow me on Twitter. Or Like my author page. I'm easy to please.

Let's talk about the elephant in the room.

Truth be told, I don't have anything too profound to blog about about, except that I'm totally stoked about my new book. I've waited over a year for this one! Great series. I prefer this to the original, but that's just my opinion. 

Anyway, I just wanted to show off my new friend. The best part of this picture is that he's smiling too. Sort of. 

I bet he likes my shirt.

Also, a big announcement will be made about The Acquisition sometime this week!