What I'm Loving Wednesday

It's time for another exciting edition of What I'm Loving Wednesday..yep, I'm linking up with Jamie once again....

1. I love these on Design Mom ....they make me smile; therefore I must share them with the world.







This one is my favorite! :)



2. The radio show I listen to on my way to work in the mornings was talking about a new term going around. When someone sees something they REALLY love and want, they call it an "eye-gasm." Quite colorful terminology, I know. So what gives me an eye-gasm?? Here are a few things that come to mind:

Lucchese boots...their website makes me drool....

The Sophia Satchel from Coach...the perfect bag! (and of course I love the name!)



and the ultimate eye-gasm....

The 2012 Volvo XC90...swoon.....in silver, of course....(Hey, let me dream, ok???)



What gives you an eye-gasm??

Update!

I'm happy now! :)

	1	2	3	4	OT	F
DAL	0	7	7	10	3	27
SF	0	14	7	3	0	24

What I'm NOT Loving Sunday...

I don't think that I've mentioned it before, but we are huge Dallas Cowboy fans. Angelo has loved them since he was a child, and naturally I'm a fan by marriage (I have grown to love them, too). We go to games every year, and even have PSL's in the new stadium. We look forward to football season all year--the other sports just can't hold a candle to the NFL.

That being said, I am definitely NOT loving the start the Boys are off to this year. They lost a nail-bitter last weekend, and as I am writing this post they are losing to the Forty-Niners (really???)...Last year was pretty darn bad; hopefully this year will not be a repeat. I don't think that I can take it if it is! ugghh...

Go Cowboys!.........please!

10 day You Challenge--Two Songs

Two Songs

I'm probably in the minority with this one, but I'm not really a music person. I mean, I like it, but it's not something that I have to have around me. In fact, when I travel by myself in the car, there is a great chance that the radio is not even on.  This is all actually sort of funny though because Sophie loves music and is taking piano and violin lesson, We know who she will not ask for help if the need arises! Here are a few special ones that I really like.

1. Journey

What child of the eighties does not like Journey??  One of the greatest albums ever is their Greatest Hits album. Angelo and I listened to it all the time when we were first dating.... My favorite songs to this day are "Faithfully," "Open Arms," and "Don't Stop Believing."



2. The Righteous Brothers--"Unchained Melody"

Who doesn't remember the movie Ghost??  It is one of the best love stories of all time. I remember watching it when Ang and I were dating with tears running down my cheeks. Thanks to it, I will always blush when I think of a potter's wheel..lol..."Unchained Melody" was the perfect song for this movie. It will always be one of the most beautiful love songs of all time.

   

10 Day You Challenge--Three Movies

Three Movies

I could go on about movies for days...there are so many that I love. This is one hobby that we enjoy doing as a family. In the summer, we generally go to one at least once a week, depending on what's playing in the Family Movie/Kid Movie genre. I have a particular friend who thinks that we are crazy (hmmm....she knows who she is!), but we all find it really relaxing. Plus, we buy the refillable popcorn buckets sowe can munch away relatively cheap...:)

For the three movies for this post, I've decided to write about my personal favorites, You know, the ones that you can watch over and over on cable whenever you see that they are on...ironically, my three favorites all fit into the same categories--British and romance....sigh...I heart them!

1. Pride and Prejudice

I. Love. This. Movie.  I can watch it endless times, and lucky for me, they play it constantly. Even though I prefer Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy in the 1995 production, I still love watching the 2005 version with Kiera Knightley. The sets are realistic, the acting is incredible, and the chemistry between Elizabeth and Darcy makes my heart swoon...I'm a sucker for this love story every time...

2. Bridget Jones's Diary

I loved the book, and I loved the movie. What's not to like about a less-than perfect main character who gets the man of her dreams at the end of the movie?? Even though I'm not a big Renee Zellweger fan (my hubby says she always looks like she has been eating sour lemons!), she makes a lovable Bridget...and don't even get me started on Hugh Grant and (gasp--once again) Colin Firth! Who wouldn't want to be in a love triangle with these two?? :)  I don't think it's an accident that I love it so much and that it's a modern-day version of Pride and Prejudice--notice a trend here??

3. Notting Hill

What a great story...a world-famous movie star (Julia Roberts) falls for an average Joe (Hugh Grant)...despite many ups and downs--and a hilarious supporting cast--both find true love. One of the things that makes this movie so good to me is the music...it has some of the most romantic music ever.

3. Love Actually----Ok, ok....I know that I already picked a #3, but I couldn't leave this one out.

Once again, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Kiera Knightley, and a plethora of other top notch actors makes this an adorable Christmas love story. I literally watch it all the time, over and over. Be warned, however...it is actually very risque!

So, as you can tell, I'm actually quite predictable...if you haven't seen these, I highly recommend that you make a date with your television and your couch sometime soon. Don't say I didn't warn you though--they are highly addictive! British accents optional, of course...:)

What I'm Loving Wednesday...

I'm linking up with Jamie for What I'm loving Wednesday...

There is a lot to be excited about this week! Here goes...

1. Fall television starts this week. I'm trying to decide what new shows to watch (yes, I know that these decisions are of world-wide importance...lol). So far I have heard a lot of hype about Sarah Michelle Gellar's new show Ringer. I dvr-ed it, but haven't watched it yet.

Disclaimer: I think it is important to interject that I'm horrible at choosing shows to watch. For the past three years, the shows that I have decided to follow have all been cancelled mid-season...ugghhhh...

I'm also excited about the return of Survivor tonight...Angelo and I have watched almost every season, and we still find it quite enjoyable (not to mention that I love Jeff Probst!)...



Do you look forward to fall television as much as I do? Which shows are you anticipating the most?

2. I'm loving that the show Toddlers and Tiaras is finally getting the negative publicity it deserves. Don't get me wrong, I (sort of) watch it, but I find that it gets more and more despicable each week. This past episode featured a young girl dressed up as the Julia Robert's prostitute character in Pretty Woman...really? Disgusting...The week before that, a four-year old dressed as Dolly Parton--boobs, butt, and all...what are these "mothers" thinking?? I have read some great articles about the sexualization of young girls in the media this week (particularly this one from CNN), and I find that it is a sickening trend. Clothing stores are just as guilty as the networks. I personally do not buy Sophie the provocative clothing sold by such stores as Justice and The Children's Place (back when Steph was young, I actually bought most of her clothes there because they were once age appropriate). I can just imagine thousands of pedophiles sitting around their televisions at night watching this show or ogling over the the young girls modeling these clothes. I feel strongly that TLC (which by the way is supposed to be The Learning Channel) has a moral obligation to cancel this show. Parents also need to speak up and stop supporting companies that exploit young girls.

3. I have two new blogs that I love. As you can probably tell, I am blog obsessed. I love to blog, but I love reading them just as much (you can read about some of my favorites here). I'm such a stalker! I recently found two that are quite fun...

The first is about Brittany and Scott, newlyweds who are currently sailing around the world. I would absolutely love to do that! Windtraveler details the places they go, their experiences on their cozy home-on-the-water, and their adventures at sea. Brittany just recently posted that she is pregnant! I cannot wait to see how they deal with this latest development! I am so living vicariously through this blog!

The second blog that I like is fascinating and truly inspirational. Baseballs to Bows tells the story of a family that has three sons, yet still decided to adopted two young girls from China. Jennifer details their life with amazing photos and testaments. I highly recommend it, especially if you are feeling that your own life is chaotic and disorganized. Imagine if you added two young girls, one of which does not speak English yet! Amazing...

4. And...the most exciting event of the week?? After much anticipation and running to the mail box everyday for a week, I finally got my Erin Condren Life Planner in the mail. I read about it on some blogs a few weeks ago and decided that I wanted it. I scoured the Internet for coupons and broke down and got one...it took almost as long to decide which design I wanted! The verdict?  I LOVE it. I can already imagine myself as the most hip, organized woman on the planet...lol! Seriously, I love organizing, planners, and stationary and this has all three in one. It was also packed spiffy, and it felt like Christmas opening it this morning. (Ignore my messy desk at school and the bad IPhone pics!)

And finally I will leave you with a few images of what I love the most...my family. Every Monday we go to Raleigh to take Stephanie and Thomas out to eat for what Sophie has dubbed "Mexican Monday." It's a nice relaxing break for all.

I love these last two pics because it shows Sophie (in her own State tee) practically running to her sister's dorm!

Have a great week!

I remember....

I remember vividly my parents and their friends telling me their JFK assassination stories...they would reminisce about where they were when they heard the "news." It wasn't possible to forget, my mom would explain, because everything changed after that; a sense of peace and prosperity were destroyed, never to be recaptured again.

On September 11, 2001, I found out exactly what she was talking about. I will never forget that morning. I was a teacher at Western Harnett High School, and I was with my 2nd period Honors English III class. I don't remember exactly what I was teaching, but looking at the date and comparing it to the start of school and my pacing guide for that class, it was probably To Kill a Mockingbird. Someone came to my classroom and said that something horrible had happened, and soon after our principal, Mr. Samuels, came on the announcements. It was the most surreal experience of my life. The best way to describe it would be to say that it was like a suspension of time. I'm ashamed to admit that I wasn't entirely sure which buildings the Twin Towers were (I had never been to New York), but I quickly found out when my students hooked up our prehistoric television system. We did not have cable at our school, so someone had to hold a long cord a certain way to get reception. Our eyes were glued to the set as we watched our nation in its most vulnerable state ever.

I teach in a military community, so the reactions of the students are forever implanted on my mind. Many could not process the events, and they would break down crying in fear. Others had to be checked out of school just so they could feel safe surrounded by their loved ones. I often think of these military kids and of the ones I teach today. The military family structure has been forever changed...so many of these kids are growing up without one or even both of their parents because of the subsequent war on terror. These kids are also victims of that fateful day.

Later that night we went out to dinner with a cousin that was visiting from another state. Fort Bragg and Fayetteville were virtual ghost towns. Anyone who has ever visited these towns knows that this never happens; these cities are always hopping. We ate at Chili's, and the restaurant was eerily quiet--it was so unsettling that I think that we all regretted even going out. We ate and quickly went home to join the rest of the country in front of our television sets.

I do remember getting extremely angry at one thing that day. Stephanie was in third grade at South Harnett Elementary School. She came home from school and told me and her Daddy that she has watched footage all day at school. We were furious and complained to the school. If anyone can remember, the footage from the first day was extremely graphic because it was unedited--it showed people jumping and falling and all sorts of chaos on the ground....it was definitely not something for an eight-year-old to view.

I understand that one day Sophie and my future grandchildren will hear us talking about where we were on September 11, 2001, just as I heard my parents with their JFK stories many years ago. I was detached from those conversations because I could not relate...unfortunately, for the past ten years I have been relating. For their sake, I hope that they never have to experience their own "I remember..." event.

All photos by Chris Hondros for Getty Images.
RIP Chris....

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Linking up for What I'm Loving Wednesday...

After a lovely three day weekend, I'm feeling pretty good about things this week. Here is what I'm loving:

1. TOMS!! Steph finally talked me into getting a pair of TOMS (she has two pairs), and I love them. They are so comfortable, and they can be dressed up or down. I didn't feel quite so bad about spending the money when I learned that for every pair you buy, the company donates a pair of shoes to children in need in Third World countries. Yeah for helping others while looking good, too!

      

2. I'm loving that a close friend of mine is pregnant with her first child! I'm praying that her every minute of the day sickness morning sickness goes away soon...

3. I'm loving that Sophie got to spend Grandparents Day at VCA with two very special people, Connie Mack and Linda. They had a great morning at school, and then had a fun lunch in town. She could not stop talking about it all week.

4. I'm especially loving that we spent a wwonderful Labor Day weekend together at the beach. More importantly, it was Stephanie's 18th birthday! (more on this later)....she got to take a much deserved break from school and relax with the family.

Have a Great Week!! :)