Birthday Pictures--Finally!

Despite the fact that I did not do a blog entry on the exact day, a fact that bothers me a great deal, Jonathan turned four on July 2. Like every year, we did his four year old pictures on the same day. My friend Cindy is a great photographer and agreed to meet us before she went to work; thank goodness that she did and saved us from a certain local photographer who takes great pictures but has a ridiculously high session fee (and don't even get me started on the print prices. EEK!!)

Here are some of my favorites:





















It's so hard for me to believe how the time has flown by and it completely freaks me out to think about how quickly the next four years are likely to pass. So, better late than never, Happy Birthday Jonathan! You have brought more joy to my life than you will ever know.

My "I Don't Want to Work Because I Have a Cold and/or Allergies" Ten on Tuesday

While I have yet to post Jonathan's four year old pictures (I know, I know!), I have a bunch of random stuff to get out of my head, which is particularly crowded right now by mucous and what not, so here is a long overdue blog post:

1. Stomach flab. Why does it remain despite my best efforts? Will it always be there regardless of my exercise/eating habits? I have worked out more in the past year than I ever have IN MY ENTIRE LIFE yet the stomach area is less than awesome. Much less than awesome.

2. We spent last week on vacation in Destin, Florida. It was incredible. I am now ready to retire there. Or to win the lottery and move there right now.

3. On vacation, our bedroom had the most lovely king sized bed. Our queen sized bed at home now pales in comparison. I want a new bed this instant!

4. Unfortunately, a new bed is not in my immediate future because I am getting braces. Long story short, I had braces when I was in middle school but things have dome some shifting, causing me to have problems with my bite as well as the wear on my back molars. At 31 years old, this is not something that I am necessarily looking forward to experiencing again. And the price--YOWZERS!! It will be nice to have perfectly straight teeth again, however, and it is only supposed to be for 12-14 months. Oh, and get this--I have to pay myself as my parents turned down the opportunity I gave them to pay again. The nerve.

5. While on vacation, a Coach factory store was located half a mile from our condo. I visited it and bought NOTHING as there was nothing that I wanted to buy. And I don't even remember feeling sick that day :)

6. I still love Rick Pitino, despite his recent scandal. He's a good basketball coach regardless of any alleged indiscretions. Go Cards!

7. I am sad that the reviews for The Time Traveler's Wife have been less than stellar as I loved the book a good deal. I still want to go see it, though. Kara, call me!

8. I need to enroll Jonathan in swim lessons because he absolutely loves the water and particularly the pool. I also need swim lessons myself because I don't know how to swim. While this fact embarrasses me, I am plagued by a fear that I can't learn how to swim so I keep putting off the lessons. I really need to do it, though, because I REALLY want to go white water rafting and doing that without being able to swim does not seem at all like a good idea.

9. While driving back from vacation, I wondered--why does it always take so much longer to get home than it does to get to your vacation destination? Or is it just me?

10. At mile marker 6 off I-65 after crossing into Tennessee from Alabama, there are a lot of adult bookstores and "gentlemen's" clubs. One of the places was called Big Jim's Boobie Bungalow. Cracked my ass up.

And just so you know that the birthday pictures really do exist, here is a preview: