My sister, her husband, and Kennedy

We won't get to see them at Thanksgiving this year. They rotate holidays with Skinners and LaPierres, so they will be in Maine this time.
They had some professional pictures taken this past week... here are a couple of them.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Byrd High School Homecoming

So... who remembers high school homecomings? Well... for those of you that remember them, I hope this brings back fond memories. As some of the readers of this blog (yes, all 2 of you) know, I have a younger brother. He is a senior at C.E. Byrd High School this year. He will be attending LSU in the fall. He is really excited about going to college there, so my parents house has become Tiger Central. Anyway... here are some pics from his last Homecoming. His date's name is Natalie (he's not exclusive with anyone right now), she's in the blue dress. The girl in the purple and pink dress is Haley, they have been friends for a long time. Anyway, enjoy! By the way.... isn't my brother handsome!

It just wouldn't be a new posting without her!

Disclaimer:
For those of you who notice these kinds of things... yes, I am at work. It is about 3:45 pm. I am taking a break from the mundane accounting world to post to the blog.


So... of course I have new pictures of Kennedy. She has learned how to pose and has her hair fixed so lovely; I just had to share it! The is just before she goes to bed. My sister says that when she wakes up it looks like a lion's mane, so she took the opportunity to grab a few candid photos with her looking so pretty. Pretty does not do her justice.


Am I a biased auntie or what? NAH!

Good grief

Work is stressful, school is stressful... why is life so stressful?

I LIVE FOR FRIDAYS!!!!!


FYI - I came across a brown reclus spider in the house last night... specifically beside my bed. Needlesstosay, I about jumped out of my skin. Trey, on the other hand, decided to play with it. So far it has been in the fridgerator (to see if it would hibernate) and then "brought back to life." He gave it a moth and of course, the spider killed it. Did I mention I've asked him to "stomp the life out of it"? So far I am losing the argument.

My question is this... since I have seen one or two, does that mean I have a brown reclus problem in my house? Those little boogers are bad news... and oh yeah, I HATE BUGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I stink at this...

So, after 2 months of not posting any new pics or info, I finally get two comments asking for new stuff. I guess I need to update this site more often. But when you work full time, your company just split, and going to grad school it's a little hard to keep up (and stay sane).

Thanks for caring John and Lauren! I have a bad habit of reading blogs and then forgetting post on mine... I will try harder.

So, here are some updates and random thoughts:
1. I made two A's in my classes this summer... yea!
2. I miss my husband... he's been out of town since Friday of last week. Alas, we will be re-united tonight! HOORAY! It's been very lonely here without him.
3. I have the "red-eye" that just won't go away. I'm scared I have that infection that you get from contacts that I read about on the internet. I may be paranoid... but I'm going to the doctor about it again tomorrow. I had it once before about 2-3 weeks ago, but it's back... It's so bad I can't wear my contacts... FYI - I HATE WEARING GLASSES.
4. Today I realized that I haven't eaten any meat since Friday. I am now craving meat of any kind. A McDonald's double cheeseburger is in my near future.
5. I entered the Little Rock Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K run for October 7th. What was I thinking? I'm NOT a runner, but I am trying. I really want to achieve my goal of running a 5K. Right now I can run about 1 mile before I just about pass out (the last half is uphill). Any advice?
6. Yea! I am finally taking a mini-vacation. I will not be at work Wednesday - Friday of this week. I am so glad. I am hoping to re-charge my battery before school starts back up on the 28th.

Alrighty... that's all for now.

Kennedy says....

GO MAVS!

Time FLIES!!!

Wow... time surely flies! Today is our wedding anniversary. Trey and I have been married for 4 years! It seems like just yesterday we got married and were living in Ruston. (I still miss Ruston!) And 4 years later, here we are in Arkansas. WOW!

I will take a minute to brag on my husband. He is absolutely wonderful and my perfect match. I think that we compliment each other wonderfully. Sure... we're not perfect, but we are perfect for each other. I love him more and more every day! I thank God that He brought Trey into my life. I am so excited about the years to come!

Trey, I love you so VERY much. And thank you for loving me.

Bathroom Etiquette

If the bathroom at your place of work has multiple stalls... or if you ever need to use a public bathroom that has multiple stalls, then riddle me this:

If you have, let's say, 6 stalls in a row and you walk in to the bathroom , which stall do you choose? For argument's sake we will say that there is only one other person in the bathroom (already in a stall).

Where am I going with this? Let me just say that the PROPER thing to do would be to skip at least one stall in the row as to not be right beside the other person. Is it just me? WHY would someone choose a stall that has a neighbor when there are others to choose from that are more secluded? It just seems like an invasion of space. This can go for guys too... you don't just walk up to the "wall potty" (I don't like the technical word for this) right next to another dude... do you? Please say you don't.

Anyway, this is just a pet peeve...

Good times... good times

So... Ashley Howard and Austin Perry got hitched this weekend. It was great! She looked beautiful and he was SO excited to see her walk down that aisle! He just never stopped smiling. It was picture perfect.

It was so great to see everyone that drove or flew in for the wedding! It was a mini-reunion! We have all been reading each other's blogs, but it's never the same as seeing someone in person. It made me realize just how much I miss those old college days! Life was simple and the bills were small.

So, will the next reunion be at another wedding? Surely we will be able to get together before then! The next time we're in Dallas or Start... humm maybe Monroe, I'll give someone a ring! And I promise we'll go eat somewhere where the meat is already off the bone! :0)


Oh! On an unrelated topic... I did manage to pass my Finance class. That was truly a miracle. So... I'm on to concur Economics next week for a quick summer class. Whew! I'm ready for it to be over and I haven't even started!

Pigtails!

I'm sure I must sound like a broken record... but isn't she so cute!!!!

My niece is the most adorable little creature!

Living in Arkansas

Recently I was forwarded an email from one of my friends from Arkansas... it was one of those "You know you're from Arkansas if..." We've all seen the one about Louisiana, but I thought some of these were unique to Arkansas. Here they are:

You know you're from Arkansas if:
1. "How 'bout them Hogs" is a common phrase around your house.
2. Everyone you know has been on a "Float Trip."
3. "Vacation" means driving to Hot Springs or maybe even Branson.
6. Up North to you means Missouri.
7. The phrase "I'm going to the Lake this weekend" only means one thing. (what does it mean?)
11. You instinctively ask someone you've just met, "What High School did you go to?"
14. You see people wear bib overalls at funerals.
15. You see a car running in the parking lot at the store with no one in it, no matter what time of the year.
16. You know in your heart that Arkansas can beat Texas in football.
17. You end your sentences with an unnecessary preposition. Example: "Where's my coat at?"
19. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.
20. You think of the major four food groups as beef, pork, catfish, and Sweet Tea.
23. You only own four spices: salt, pepper, ranch and ketchup.
24. You eat dinner at noon and supper at night.
25. The local paper covers national and international headlines in one column, but requires six pages for sports.
26. You think I-40 is spelled and pronounced "ah fahty."
27. You'll pay for your kids' way through college unless they want to go to UT
29. You know that you can't get anywhere without going through Little Rock first.
33. You know all four seasons: Almost Summer, Summer, Still Summer and Football.
34. You know if another Arkansan is from the Ozarks, Northern, Central, or Southern part of AR as soon as they open their mouth.
35. You know that Bill Clinton, Ted Danson's wife, and John Grisham are all from Arkansas.
36. You failed World Geography in school because you thought Paris, London, Bismark & Nashville were cities in Arkansas (& they are)!
38. You know what "Wooooo Pig Sooie" means.

Yesterday I witnessed the strangest thing... I was driving down I-530 towards home and saw an old white jacked up bronco coming out of the woods (covered in mud of course). There is not a service road on this interstate... so they just decided to merge themselves right on the freeway from the shoulder, during rush hour. What can you do except laugh and change lanes so they can join us on the highway. That's Arkansas for ya.

Where have we been?

Well... I have been working on school work with barely anytime to breathe! I am very ready for the semester to be over. By the way, I REALLY like the quarter system much better. These semesters are really dragging on and on and on...

So, what have we been up to the past few weeks? Well, let's see:

1/17/06 - George Strait concert - I waited 'til the last minute to get our tickets, so we were in the nosebleed section, but it was GREAT! He sang so many of his great hits... We had a great time, but were almost deaf upon leaving. Trey said he thought it might have been louder than the Creed concert he saw at Alltel Arena while in college.

2/12/06 - 5 years ago this day was mine and Trey's first date. Nothing special was done, but it was neat to think that 5 years has gone by! I am getting so old!

2/17/06 - Mardi Gras ball in Shreveport - very neat to go to something so fancy. My uncle was the King of the Krewe des Ambassadeurs (Minden, LA). Smaller krewe, but still neat. I was so much fun to get all "dolled" up. Trey was in his tuxedo and I was in fancy dress. I even had my hair done... kinda like you do for proms. It was freezing walking to the car, but I enjoyed it.

2/25/06 - New vinyl siding and gutters are finished on the house! Whohoo! It looks so good! We will have to post pictures once the new door and shutters are painted, and when we get the new columns put up. Sidenote - only when we got the outside of the house finished did the woodpecker start banging on the house... I still can't figure out what part he is trying to poke a hole in, but so help me if he pokes a hole in my new exterior... we'll just say that will be one dead bird.

3/4/06 - My birthday. I'm 26 now and I don't really like it. I don't feel 26; I hope I don't look it.
We went to Shogun's - my favorite restaurant. We ate so much, but it was worth it!

3/20/06 - My mid-term for Finance class. Let's just say I'm glad it's over and I DO NOT look forward to the final.

Well... that about sum's it up. In between Trey has been making big progress on the kitchen cabinets. Most of them are in the garage waiting their turn to be sanded and re-stained. But the ones that are up are BEAUTIFUL! Once again, I need to take some pictures of them to post, but I never seem to have the camera with me at work in order to do that. I need to write that down so I'll remember.

Speaking of which, does anyone else have that problem? I am finding that I MUST write things down in order to remember them these days. That can't be a good sign.

One more thing... you much check out this website: http://www.giantstepstalk.blogspot.com
The post for Friday, March 10, 2006 is my niece and it is just too funny!

Okay, until next time!

Finance for Dummies...

I swear if there were a book for Finance retards like myself I would buy stock in it. I am tired of looking at my Finance homework and since crying about it isn't helping, I thought I might share my frustrations with whoever reads this. It's actually quite amusing that my job title is FINANCIAL ANALYST, and I might fail this class. Ugh, now I want to cry again. It's times like these that I wish I wasn't such a perfectionist. It drives me nuts when I don't understand something. This class is for the birds.
On the contrary, I am really enjoying my Org. Behavior class. It involves a lot of outside reading, but at least it's interesting. And after I leave class I don't feel like jumping off a cliff.
Alright... enough complaining. I need to buckle down and learn how to create a pro forma income statement, balance sheet, and cash budget. Who am I kidding? I will never be able to teach myself how to do this. I think I might need a tutor. This is just sad... really, really sad.

You know you don't belong in Grad school when you think you need a tutor.

Well, good night and good luck (to me, 'cause I'm gonna need it).

WHAT was I thinking???

So I am sitting here (in my cube at lunch...) looking on the internet for two books that I need this semester for the management class I am taking. Why am I doing this? Well I have decided to get my MBA. So while I am looking for these two glorious books that I will not only have to read but write papers on, I ask myself... WHY AM I DOING THIS? The answer is quite simple really... Number 1 - I didn't have to take the GMAT (otherwise I would not be doing it due to my lack of confidence and ability with the standardized test industry). Number 2 - ALLTEL is going to reimburse all my expenses. So, essentially I have no reason not to get the extra degree. Oh yeah... and it will probably help with my career. :0) But despite all these great reasons... I am already overwhelmed at how much work is involved in this process of earning an MBA. We'll see how it goes... Mgmt 7310 and Finc 7311 - here I come.

Oh and did I mention that the two papers I have to write for one of my classes are SINGLE spaced??? UH! What happened to good 'ole double spaced papers... I guess they expect more out of graduate students, but I have no idea why.

So... Yesterday I discovered just how many people I know have blogs, and let me tell you - I was amazed. I had no idea that this was such a big deal, but apparently it is. The thing I don't get is how do you get people to know about your blog? I emailed a few people to let them know that we were part of the blog underworld, but I'm not sure if they have visited the site yet. If they have, they didn't leave a comment. However, thank you to Sarah Moss for letting me know she had been there (and Christi too). It was only through her comment did I realize that she too had a blog. And from there I saw Meredith and Justin's and remembered Ashley Howard's site, that I had not visited in a very long time. It is truly amazing what you can learn about friends that you have lost touch with...

So, if you are wondering what Trey and I have been up to, then let me fill you in. We have lived in Arkansas for almost a year now. We moved here from Texarkana, TX after having lived there for 18 months while Trey received his Masters in Engineering from the University of Arkansas (distance learning)... GO TREY! I am so proud of him! Prior to living in Texarkana of course we were in Ruston. We live about 10 miles outside of Little Rock. Trey drives south for about 25 miles to get to work (Pine Bluff Arsenal - Safety Engineer) and I go about 20 miles north to get to my work (Alltel). I like living in LR, but I do miss being closer to home. We are about 4 hours from home, so it makes for a very short trip if we go on the weekend. I guess we just got spoiled living in Ruston and then Texarkana which are both about an hour away. Our actual address is a little town called Hensley (I have been there one time... not much to see). Anyway, we have a house that we have been remodeling since we moved in, but hopefully it will be done soon. It is going to look great! It has been updated a lot and Trey has done all the work himself. I have helped him do some things like painting, but he truly deserves the credit for most of it.

I guess that's it for what is going on with us... no kiddos yet or on the way... just my sweet, 4 legged, fluffy Molly. I adore her!

Food for thought... My new favorite song is the "When I Get Where I'm Goin" by Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton. I know that she is really old school, but it is such a great song! Has anyone else heard this song yet?

Here is my Molly! This picture was taken on October 1, 2005 (her 2nd birthday). Doesn't she look so pretty?

Here is a recent picture of me and Trey. This is from Christmas this year.