Castaway

I've been kind of MIA from the blog scene lately. Work has been busy, and a lot has been going on in our lives, in general. Which, of course, means many great blog posts are currently on back order.

However, they're just going to have to stay there for a little while longer, because Brad and I are leaving today for a much needed mini-vacation!

Promptly at 4:00 this afternoon, we are heading to the beach! But not just any beach. We're making our way to an island! We'll be heading due-east to the outer banks of North Carolina, to hop on a ferry, and enjoy 4 glorious, relaxing, intimate days together on Ocracoke Island, lounging on the beach and getting kissed by the sun as we leisurely read books by the shore. We haven't had any alone time away since our honeymoon, over four years ago, and we're totally ready!

It's kind of a celebration of sorts. We've made it this far, through job stresses, personal struggles, three different summers with "roommates," and we still love each other. I guess it'll be much like an anniversary trip, only this is "just because we deserve it" trip. Well, and it's a little celebration of some changes in our future, but those are other blog posts altogether. (Before you even go there, no, we are not pregnant.)

Anyway, I'll be MIA for a little longer. We'll be being beach bums on and island and loving it.

Stay tuned for recaps next week, of course accompanied by tons of pictures. Oh, and maybe I'll find time to post about everything else that's been going on, too. We'll see how I'm feeling after I've been castaway.

He's Just a Skater Boy

My youngest brother is definitely, what Avril Lavigne would refer to as, a Sk8ter Boi. Ever since Trevor was a baby, he's been on various wheeled contraptions - skateboards, bikes, roller blades, etc. It's not uncommon for him to even include his "wheels" in family portraits. (This one was taken way back last Fall, before Clinton was born, and while Richard was running around with friends and not posing with the family.)

Trevor has survived many cuts, scrapes, and bruises for the cause of the sport, but he had never actually broken a bone. The inevitable was bound to happen, sometime... Trevor was riding with some friends at his local skate park, last week, when it finally occurred. He broke his left arm.

When he texted me, all he said was, "I broke my arm." I knew, without asking, how it had happened. We had all been waiting for it, after all. I just asked him if the trick was worth it, and he said, "No, it was a trick I've done 1,000 times."

I, of course, then asked, "Did you at least impress the girl??" His simple response: "Nope."

Poor Trevor. I'm not sure if there were no girls around, or if his girl just simply wasn't impressed by a basic trick gone bad, but he wasn't kidding. It's definitely broken.

He snapped his radius clean in half. Such a severe break, in fact, that he had to have surgery to correct it.

He was in surgery for over three hours, yesterday. The doctor said that most of that time was spent maneuvering around nerves and tendons to get to the bone without further damage, and the surgery went as well as he had hoped it would.

They had to put a metal plate in his arm with five screws. (I believe, the surgeon wanted to have three above and three below the break, but there wasn't enough room between the break and the elbow to put more than two.) If I understand it correctly, the plate is permanent.

Cool battle wound.

Even though the failed trick didn't impress any girls, maybe he'll be able to impress all the ladies in the future by setting off metal detectors with his bare hands!! That's my brother!

Redneck Slip & Slide

Summer just isn't summer without some serious sprinkler action. The best water play ever invented was the original Slip 'n Slide. I spent many a summers slipping and sliding on that thin yellow plastic as a youngster. But, who says that you can't still enjoy the soaked fun on a hot day even when you're a grown up?

Our friends, Pam and Mitch, invited us to join them and their neighbors in some wet, summer fun. Across the street from their house, in a neighbor's back yard, an old fashioned slip 'n slide party was in full swing! However, this was not your traditional, run-of-the-mill slipping and sliding. No, this was Redneck Slip 'n Slide! They bought a giant tarp and draped it across the lawn. Once a little sprinkler water and baby shampoo was added, we, rednecks, slipped and slid for 75 feet!

In an effort to truly fit in to the Redneck theme of the evening, Brad joyously sported his glorious mullet wig and some newly created cut-off (too short) jean shorts. You know I couldn't have been prouder.

I regret to admit that I ended up sitting on the sidelines with Pam, as we watched the men join the kids in making fools of themselves. This was a decision that I did not regret in the least. First of all, it was hilarious to watch grown men racing children to beat them as the next slipper to slide down the soaked tarp. Brad's face was pure ecstasy, and Mitch looked like a walrus as he willed his body to go the farthest. Oh, and their little son, Ben, was way too cute!

Second of all, it was apparently very painful. Brad got tarp burns down his bare chest, and various scrapes, cuts, and bruises on multiple parts of his body. Not to mention, his muscles were so sore the next day that he literally had to use his arms to lift his legs up, one at a time, into his pants.

Obviously, we're too old for this stuff.

Pranks, Country Style

I'm not the biggest fan of Taylor Swift in the world, but I can't deny that I sing along to her tunes on the radio, or that they get stuck in my head for days. Likewise, I don't go crazy over Keith Urban, but I do think he's super cute, and I generally love his music (so romantic!). Apparently, Keith Urban is having a variety of different acts open for him throughout his 2009 tour, one of which is Talor Swift.

Both of these country stars just earned some mega points in my book. Taylor's awesome sense of humor was displayed Saturday night at Keith's Kansas City tour when she and her band appeared on stage with him dressed up as KISS and rocked out to his Kiss a Girl tune. He was caught completely off guard, and it's completely hilarious.

Enjoy.

I'm glad I share a hometown with these two. Way to represent Nashville!

No Turning Back

The invitations have been sent. Heather's mom spent countless hours beautifully calligraphying each outer and inner envelope. They are flawless!

Heather gathered some bridesmaid troops earlier this week to assemble, stuff, stamp, and mail them. We braved the terrible heat and humidity at 10:00 in the evening to mail them from a local mail box, ASAP.

They're out. The wedding's officially on. There's no turning back now... (Well, there technically could be, but that's not as dramatic to say. Besides, we all know that there won't be.) We're all counting down until the wedding, and glad to be one step closer!

Brad and I have actually already received our formal invitation. As soon as I saw it in the mailbox, I felt bad for costing my future-sister-in-law $1.05 in postage. Why, oh why didn't I just bring it home with me that night?

Oh well. Real mail is always nice. Especially when it says "Mr. & Mrs. Bradley Mehaffey" in that stunning, handwritten script!

It's Starting to Sprinkle

Summer has brought with it some showers - bridal showers, that is! Matthew and Heather will (finally) tie the knot next month, and shower season has officially begun!

To kick off the tradition of gift-giving the newlyweds, some of Heather's best friends at church threw her a Kitchen Shower late last month. (That same night, the guys through Matthew a "Man Shower," but I wasn't there, and my husband didn't take pictures, so there will be no blog post about the tools he received. Sad, I know.) The girls cleverly decorated the house with kitchen aprons and oven mitts and provided some of Heather's favorite snack foods, including fruit, devil's food cupcakes, sausage balls, chips and queso dip, and pigs in blankets. Yum!

Heather was showered with wonderful kitchen must-haves all night long. She received plates, glasses, a spice rack, bakeware, storage containers, a basket full of miscellaneous essentials (utensils, Ziploc bags, dish soap, sponges, etc), decorative items, special recipes from her Mama, and, of course, her very own apron.

She was completely showered with love by some of us who love her most. Here's the whole gang (minus Beth and Baby Adley who had to leave early). Notice how we (accidentally) left a perfect space for Bobby Brown to join us!

The bride-to-be with her wonderful hostesses, Megan, Cristin and Gena.

With barely a month to go before the Big Day, she's anticipating a few more showers with different groups of friends and family. Oh the benefits of marrying your love. Besides, you know, marrying your love.

Movies at the Mall

Have you heard of the new Julie & Julia movie? It's "based on two true stories" - the making of Julia Child in the 1940's, and the present time, year-long blog experiment of Julie Powell as she commits to cooking all 542 recipes in Julia's cook book.

The movie doesn't technically release until this Friday, but Cristin came upon four free movie passes to the pre-screening of the film. It was definitely an occasion that called for a girls' night out at the mall! Heather, Emily and I joined her, last night, at Opry Mills. We spent some time playing in Forever21 before dining lavishly in the food court. Once we were finished eating our various meals, we headed straight into the cinema (with only a short break to pine over the new New Moon poster).

Let me just say, that I loved the movie. Way more than I anticipated. Meryl Streep as Julia Child was hilarious! It was weird to see Amy Adams with short hair, but she played the role perfectly. There were a few curse words (and one F-word) that clearly earned the PG-13 rating, but it was wonderful.

Watching Julia Child learn to cook was amusing. (Heather and I could hardly keep from giggling to ourselves as she so resembled our father-in-law's spot on impression of her!) The idea that even Julia Child had to start somewhere regarding her cooking is very encouraging to kitchen-haters like myself.

The blog references regarding Current Day Julie were completely relatable! Well, for those of us who blog, at least. She frequently mentioned longing for comments from readers and cheered out loud at work when she got her first one. I totally know that feeling. As a blog writer, you wonder if anybody ever actually reads your blog, and each comment feels like a nice, warm, hand-written letter in the mailbox.

(Ahem. If you're reading this, leave a comment - even if it's just to say, "Hey, I read this." I'll get all giddy over it. I promise.)

There was also a nice love story (well, two) of healthy, happy, married couples. It was oh-so-nice to see husbands and wives loving, encouraging, and supporting each other. Great change from the norm.

I really do recommend the movie to anybody who likes blogs (which you do, since you're reading this), likes to cook, likes Julia Child, or Meryl Streep or Amy Adams, or just comedy in general. (They indulge you as Julie and her husband joyfully watch Dan Akroyd's classic Julia Child skit from SNL.)

Evenings with the girls are always fun, especially when we're at the mall or watching a great chick flick together. Combine those two activities, and make the movie a free, sneak preview, and you've got a pretty great night on your hands! Thanks, Cristin, for making it happen!