holiday cliff notes

well, seems like alot has happened in the past month. the holidays were a whirlwind and now we're back to normal life, or atleast what we consider normal life. christmas was amazing. we went down to louisiana and spent time with both of our families. but of course, it just never seems like we had enough time there. all too soon we were back in the car making the 8 hour trek back to fayetteville. and i've noticed a pattern whenever i leave after visiting home. i cry every time. guaranteed. but i consider that a good sign. i guess it's because i am so blessed to have the family i do and i realize that time spent with them is precious. after seeing all of my grandparents and having our big family christmas, i can't help but feel like i have so much more than i deserve. it kinda puts everything else in perspective.
new years was also a blast. we went the the younts lakehouse and rang in the new years playing cards and "whammy" until the wee hours of the morning. and for someone who is usually asleep by 1030, i must say i was proud of myself to make it way past midnight. i also won $25 with a crazy lucky hand in "high-low" that somehow miraculously beat out kara. i also learned how to play poker! i thoroughly enjoyed playing poker, but apparently i dont really have what they call a "poker face." speaking of learning new things, we also got to shoot some skeet and ride 4-wheelers in the mud. i felt really cawntry but man it was such a blast!! so watch out, im quite the sharp shoota!
but so far the new year has been pretty quiet, which i am completely okay with. ben started back in grad school and is loving it. im really proud of him for going back and finding something he is passionate about. i have no doubt he'll be an outstanding counselor (especially after seeing how crazy i am). i am still enjoying my new job and unfortunately so are my hips and thighs...if only those drug reps would quit bringing lunch EVERY stinkin day!!
so that's kinda where i am in a very small nutshell. now im just trying to hang in there until warm weather rolls around!

doodle the freakin' poodle

as many of you may know, we have two dogs: cooper and harley. cooper is a golden retriever, and harley is a goldendoodle. harley, however, is also referred to as "doodle," and we probably call him doodle more than his actual name. and if you have never seen him, then you don't know how absolutely crazy and awesome his hair is. we've been told it looks like a mop, a rug, a toilet seat cover, ramen noodles, etc...get the picture? but this dog definitley turns heads.

however, his hair was getting a little out of control and it was time to take him for a professional grooming instead of our usual kitchen scissor trim that takes place in a rather haphazard fashion. we're going home for christmas, and we need our animals looking nice and smelling clean (although this is probably more for our sake on the 8 hour car ride). so off to petsmart doodle goes for a nice grooming.

well, come to find out, the "professional" groomers at petsmart INSISTED we SHAVE the doodle! apparently, his crazy awesome hair was too matted and tangled to thoroughly groom, and they couldn't just do a slight trim like we wanted... some groomers, sheesh. so reluctanly ben agrees to this.

i walk in the door from work, and what do i see? a FREAKING poodle looking dog that has been shaved almost naked but has a fluffy tail and head...ahhhh!!! sick!! i had wondered if they had mixed up our dog with another. i think even cooper was a little confused. poor harley. his hair is what he is known for..it's what makes him the doodle! i like to joke that it was like sampson getting his hair cut off and thus losing his strength. and no lie, harley has been completely moping around like he is actually exposed and embarrassed and vulnerable. ha! but like my mom always told me after a bad haircut, "it always grows back." good news for harley.

although he is unrecognizable, he's still the same sweet doodle...i just consider it a good reminder that it's what's on the inside that counts, right? so, i guess the take home lesson here is if you're going in for a quick trim, dont be manipulated into shaving your whole head.

8 is great!

I have been tagged by Michelle to do this fun little blog game!

8 TV shows that I watch:

1. friends
2. csi miami
3. survivor
4. jay leno
5. today show
6. friday night lights
7. local news
8. epsn (not always by choice!)

8 Favorite Restaurants

1. spirits
2. noodles
3. pesto cafe
4. the cottage
5. chick fil a
6. macaroni grill
7. fish city
8. david pauls lahaina grill

8 Things that happened to me today

1. i forgot my veggie tray for the office party
2. i found $100 in a pair of socks my boss gave me for christmas (so this technically didnt happen today but on wednesday, but i just wanted to mention it because how cool is that?!)
3. irrigated a patient's ears for 45 minutes
4. talked to sage
5. ate homemade pizza with the younts and hartnesses
6. was shot with mini marshmallows with a marshmallow shooter gun
7. went to a couple's house i didnt know for an hour
8. took a lesson on blogging from michelle

8 Things I look forward to

1. spending time with ben
1. being home for christmas
2. seeing our families
3. getting in shape
4. learning something new
5. the weekend
6. napping
7. planting a garden in the spring
8. a good meal

8 Things I wish for

1. to be able to run a full marathon
2. for the saints to win the super bowl
3. a bike
4. healthy kiddos
5. good health
6. simplicity
7. that everyone could be happy
8. warm weather year round

Origin

so, you're probably wondering where i got the title "home grown tomatoes." little did i know that a simple song from my childhood would become one of my favorite memories. im sure you all know of those certain songs, smells, sights, people, etc., that just bring you back to a certain place in time. and this just happens to be one of mine.

i think it was sometime back in elementary school when we lived on marye st. in alexandria, la. it was one of those days when dad was working outside, mom was inside cleaning, and i was probably following molly around the yard doing whatever she did, because that was my job. on those kind of days, mom would haul out the "boom box" and put it in the window so it could be heard inside or out. and on this particular day, i guess the cassette tape of choice was guy clark and james taylor (that's right, we had a boom box for TWO cassette tapes). of course i didnt know who guy clark was, but i know i loved his song about homegrown tomatoes and how much fun dad had singing along with it. i think i listened to it a few more times after that, and next thing i knew, i was dancing to it at my wedding with dad for the father/daughter song. i know you might think it's an interesting choice, but man it was fun!

so i dont know. i guess "home grown tomatoes" just kinda grew on me for some reason. i do, in fact, like home grown tomatoes, but i love the rudimentary nature of the lyrics! i know it's nothing deep or anything worth analyzing, and i think that's why i like it so much. it's just simple. and it's just some part of an old random memory that has grown into something memorable. so thus is how "home grown tomatoes" kinda became part of my identity.