October 8: My dream profession

Good morning all. It's Columbus Day and I'm at work.  I'd rather be home sleeping but that's not how life works, unfortunately.  A few quick updates before the writing challenge for today...

Thing 1: Baby Boy has decided to have baby parties in my belly about once a day, and I LOVE it.  He's pretty quiet most of the day, but around mid-afternoon or late evening, he decides it's time to salsa. I'm pretty sure he's turning barrel rolls in there, at least that's what it feels like.  DH can't feel him yet, but hopefully soon. 

Thing 2: We close on our house this week! Yes, I'm sure I'm the girl who's cried house since we've been in this situation 2 times since April, but this one is it.  There's really nothing holding us back from closing and MOVING this weekend!!!!  I am so excited I can just taste it.  Coffee on the porch at my own house this weekend? Walking around without a bra because I don't live with anyone else? QUIET time when I get home from work? Seriously--you miss the little things after 7 months of living with parents and in-laws. I will bust out fancy camera and post pics of our new home this weekend, or after I unpack the boxes and we have internet :)

Thing 3: my wonderful dad (who is a contractor) helped me sketch out our nursery this weekend! I'm hoping the nursery will be finished by late November/early December, and I can't wait to post pics.  Thanks to one of my bffs (S) and pinterest, I know exactly what I want Baby Boy's nursery to look like.  DH approved my crib choice this weekend--isn't it beautiful--so hopefully the purchase of crib and dresser (which will double as changing table) will be forthcoming. 

Thing 4: Today we will find out when my little niece will be here!  I'm betting that SIL is induced tomorrow.  Just a guess :)  We can't wait to meet our little Elyse Adela!

And now for Jenn's Writing Prompt, October 8: If you could have any job in the whole wide world regardless of your qualifications, what would you choose and why? 

If I could do anything for a living, I would want to be an event planner.  I love to decorate and I thrive on organization and planning.  I would love to have access to people's endless amounts of money to make their dream events come true.  I would, of course, event plan for very rich people only so that I could be as magical and creative as possible.  I would have the best florists and bakers on speed dial, and my clients would invite me to their fabulous parties.  Ah, that would be the life. 

October 6 and 7

First and foremost: my SIL is home with no baby yet :) We're expecting an induce date tomorrow! I will most likely have a niece this week!!

Now, on to the less important but still very exciting updates.  Jenn's October Writing Prompts!

October 6: Current Favorite Band

Well, I hate to admit, but I'm not much of a music guru.  I've never really bought a lot of CDs, and when I was young, I don't really remember listening to the radio at all.  The only thing I remember listening to in the car was my mom's Dirty Dancing soundtrack.  I had a little white tape deck as well and I owned Paula Abdul and Garth Brooks tapes, but other than this, there's not a lot of music I associate with my childhood.  Even now, I listen to the radio, and I listen to country music, but I don't have a particular favorite.  I enjoy Blake Shelton, but when push comes to shove, I'm much more of an old music fogey.  I love classic rock, and my dream concert is Billy Joel and Elton John.  So as to a current band, not many :)

October 7: If you could sleep with one celebrity who would it be?

Ed Westwick, hands down.  I am such a good girl and I always have been, so I think there's something about his bad boy appeal that is chillingly sexy.  I love his character on Gossip Girl, and I'm ashamed to admit that he's definitely been in a couple of my dreams.  Also, I'm a sucker for a man with an accent.  (sorry DH, you know it's true).  I swear he could just look at me with those smoldering eyes and I would end up in bed with him.  Honorable mention would also go to Chace Crawford and Daniel Craig.  This question reminds me of Seinfeld and Friends, both shows where characters have created a list of "allowed to sleep with" people. I love me some 90s sitcoms!

Ok edit: After reading Em's post, I felt that I had not done mine justice at all.  And please, go read her post. It's awesome :) Thanks for bringing these beauitful men back to my memory, Em!

I do have to amend my list to include (in no particular order) Brad Pitt (with the abs from Fight Club), Christian Bale (as Laurie in Little Women), the boy who played Gilbert in the first two Anne of Green Gables films, Chris Noth (Mr. Big, in all his evil goodness).  Oh, and maybe (if I'm in a pinch) Hugh Grant (Love Actually) because I really do love a boy with an accent. 

Please send positive thoughts and prayers...

My SIL (38 weeks) was just admitted to the hospital for high BP and heart rate.  Dr. N (yes, we see the same dr) told her yesterday she was at high risk for preeclampsia.  She was scheduled to be induced on 10/16 so obviously having the baby today wouldn't be a bad thing, but under the stressful conditions, I think she's very nervous.  T

Please send positive thoughts and prayers her way.  At best/worst, I'll have pictures of a beautiful little niece to post tomorrow :)

October 5: Favorite Book

Jenn's Writing Prompt today: Your favorite book:

To ask an English major her favorite book is like asking a mother to choose her favorite child.  How in the world can I choose just one?!  So, I will subdivide books into categories and choose from there.

Favorite Classic: I love southern literature maven Eudora Welty's Delta Wedding.  I wrote my senior thesis on this book.  Honorable mention: The Great Gatsby, The Awakening (and I could probably add a hundred others to this list!)

Favorite Book from Growing Up: Little Women and all of the Anne of Green Gables books.  I still pick these up and read them from time to time, and no, there is absolutely no way to choose between the two.  Honorable mention: Ramona Quimby

Favorite Young Adult/I-can't-believe-I'm-reading-this Book: I preface these choices by saying, please don't judge me!  Twilight and Hunger Games.  I love them, in all their sappy, mushy teenage angst glory.  This is escapist literature and I'm not ashamed! (ok, I'm a little ashamed).  I will say that I prefer the books to any movie made.  Honorable mention: Searching for Alaska, Unwind.

Current Favorite: Game of Thrones series, anything by Jennifer Weiner (who DH respectful refers to as the Weiner books).  If you have a best friend, I encourage you to read Best Friends by Martha Moody. I loved this book and had my bff read it after me because I felt like we could relate to these characters. 

I'm sure I've left several books I adore off of this list. I'm a very fast reader, so sometimes I forget what I read.  I also sometimes refuse to see movies based on books because I can't take the disappointment :)

I'm excited to see everyone's choices!

October 3: most embarrassing moment

Our writing prompt today is your most embarrassing moment...this is a hard prompt for me. I'm very self-conscious so I usually double and triple check myself so that I don't have an embarrassing moment!

A few summers ago, I was attending a week-long teacher inservice at a university in the city.  I'm one of those people who believes that you should always dress nicely for anything related to professional growth because you never know who you're going to meet or who will eventually employ you.  So, true to form, I was wearing a skirt and heels.  I had carpooled with a couple of other ladies from work and we were walking from our car to the campus, probably about a half mile to three quarters of a mile walk.  We were almost to our classroom when someone came up to me and said excuse me? Your skirt is tucked into your underwear. 

Sure enough, my white skirt was tucked into my white boy short underwear. Thank GOODNESS I had not worn a thong that day! No butt cheek exposure, but I'm pretty sure anyone and everyone behind me got a good look and a good laugh.  The ultimate question, though: WHY did it take me about half a mile before anyone said anything to me!!??  I will never understand :)

Extreme Makeover, Blog Edition

Hello lovely darlings! BB (Bickerstaff Blog) just got a makeover! I was inspired by several of you out there who just changed your layouts.

What do you think? Easy to read and follow?  And...are any of you tech/HTML code savvy enough to know how to make my right hand column wider?

Have a lovely day! Fall weather makes me SO happy!

New Challenge!

Em Hart's Photo Challenge is over and I am a little sad, given that she gave me a reason to blog every day, which I LOVE doing.  Blogging is a lovely break from my crazy, hectic schedule.  I saw on two other blogs, though, that Jenn at Future Fords was hosting an October daily writing prompt challenge! YAY! I love to write, and I feel like if I write, I'm therefore allowed to read what others write about themselves. I love getting glimpses into y'alls lives and I love sharing these tidbits with DH :)

I just signed up today, so I will start with October 2 prompt. 

How did your husband propose?

Mine is two part: part 1--how he was supposed to propose...on a gorgeous mountaintop in S. Carolina while we were on vacation.  The ring didn't arrive in time for our trip. I thought he was going to propose that whole time, so I spent a lot of the trip angry at him (oh how young I was!)

Part 2: the real proposal.  He came over to my parent's house after work. (both of us were still living at home).  I had been swimming and of course, looked like crap, and I came inside to get him his swimsuit and his towel.  When I came back out from the mudroom, he was telling our puppy to go find her mommy.  We had just gotten Callie and she was about 3 months old.  So he sent the dog over to me, and though I didn't see it at first, my engagement ring was on her collar! Just precious.  So--with my mom standing in the kitchen--he told me that I was his first kiss (BACK IN HIGH SCHOOL!) and he wanted me to be his last.  I accepted without hesitation.  We ended the evening with several bottles of Veuve Clicquot (my fav champagne) in the hot tub, and Callie managed to break two of mom's champagne flutes in the celebration process. 


with the ring bearer. I look at this and can't believe she was ever that tiny



I look at this and think, WOW we were such babies!!!! DH makes that face all the time.

I didn't have the idyllic proposal where I looked gorgeous in a beautiful location, but still, I will never ever forget it!