Ummm, BBQ & other ramblings

Happy Memorial Day, everyone. Oh how I love an excuse to fire up the ole grill. Ok, ok...let me rephrase that. Ahem...Oh how I love an excuse for me not to have to cook. Ok, that's better, lol.


The summer is the one season that Mister M. does not mind cooking. Although some people don't consider "grilling" actually "cooking". Call it what you will...Mister M. is doing it and I don't have to, lol. As a matter of fact, he won't even let me go near the grill. That's the "MAN OVEN". Fine with me. I just love the results. I love the taste of anything grilled. Well, almost anything.

Guess what? Markell is coming over today. He'll actually be spending the entire week with us. I'm really looking forward to seeing him. I think Thanksgiving was the last time we saw him. I'm gonna try and find a day to hook him up with some of his old soccer buddies this week. That should be a fun reunion.

Oh darn, I just remembered something. In my last post I talked about the soccer tournament we went to in Columbus. But in all my "venting" about the crazy fans, I forgot to share something with you. I'm sure Cheryl was wondering where this was...Yep, the infamous hotel bed jumping photos :-). This is Jayla and her friend, Jordan. Jordan and her family were in a room just down the hall from us. So the first night we were there, I went to their room and asked if I could "borrow" Jordan for a minute. As our family has a hotel tradition that I'd like her to join in with us. You should have seen Jordan's face when I told her she COULD jump on the bed, lol. She said, "Seriously??" lol. Anyway, there you have it.

So, did you guys have a nice weekend? Today doesn't feel like a Monday/Holiday to me. Most of the day, I've been thinking it was Sunday. I mean, we went to church yesterday. But still, today feels like a Sunday. I LOVE Sundays!!!

On Saturday, we surprised some dear friends of ours. Shanna and her family live about an hour away. We've been exchanging emails quite a bit recently. And in one, she mentioned that her oldest daughter was graduating from high school. They were having a party for her on Saturday and said "if" we could, to drop by. Well, being that we haven't seen them in FOREVER, I thought we'd surprise them. And by FOREVER, I mean just that. The daughter that graduated, we haven't seen since she was about 3 years old. Their middle daughter is 14 years old and the last time we saw her, she was about 6 months or so. And their youngest is 9 and we've NEVER met her. Needless to say, they've never met Jayla either. So it was quite the surprise. We got a little "misplaced" driving out there. But we made it. We walked up to the porch and Bobby, Shanna's husband, came out to greet us. (Bobby and I went to high school together. Shanna and I use to work together. One day, I happened to see a picture of Bobby on her desk. I asked her how she knew him, as I went to high school with him. She told me he was her fiance. What a small world. Anyway, we've all been great friends every since).

Shanna comes to the door to see who Bobby is talking to. And when she saw us, she slams her door open about passes out, lol. She gave me the biggest, longest hug. You should've seen Bobby and Mister M. standing there looking crazy, as their wives hugged eachother and cried. It was priceless. Here's me and Shanna.

Alrighty, that's about it for my weekend and upcoming week plans. How bout a fun list. I borrowed this from Susie who also borrowed it from someone. Like Susie, I love stuff like this. So, if you're already bored, feel free to stop reading here and I'll see you on the next post :D.

1. Last Movie you Saw in a Theater: What Happens in Vegas. Very cute, chick flick.
2. Favorite Board Game: I don't really like board games. But if I HAD to choose, I'd say 'The Newlywed Game" or "Outburst".
3. Favorite Smells: Coffee brewing, clean babies, NEW Pampers, chocolate chip cookies baking, my husband, my MIL's cooking, cakes/brownies baking and new vehicles
4. Favorite Sound: Children laughing, especially my daughters and when someone says they love me.
5. Worst Feeling In The World: Feeling lonely, feeling scared, being lost
6. Favorite Fast Food Place: Chick Fil A (DUH!!) But I do love the fries at Mickey D's and the burgers at Wendy's.
7. Finish This Statement. “If I Had A Lot Of Money I’d…”: Buy my mom, my sister and my oldest daughter the home & car of their dreams, buy Mister M. the car of his dreams, have the home of our dreams built, buy myself a brand new Tahoe with a lifetime supply of gas ;D and donate the rest.
8. Do You Sleep With a Stuffed Animal? Yes, his name is Mister M. :)
9. Storms-Cool Or Scary?: Both. If it's nothing that's potentially life threatening, it's cool.
10. Favorite drink: Another DUH question :-). Dr. Pepper and sweet tea (as if there's any other type of tea)
11. Finish This Statement, “If I Had The Time I Would …..” TIME?? Not sure that's exactly what I'd need. But I'd have another baby.
12. If You Could Dye Your Hair Any Color, What Would Be Your Choice? Hmmm, why couldn't I dye my hair any color? It's MY hair! Well, maybe I'd just go all grey. I love my grey hair.
13. One Nice Thing About The Person Who Sent This To You: Well, being that no one actually sent this to me. How bout if I say one nice thing about the person I "borrowed" it from? Let's see, although I've never met Susie IRL, I'd still say that she's a sweetheart. What I DO know about her is, she's very genuine and sincere. I would love to sit and talk with her and just really get to know her better.
14. What’s Under Your Bed? Dust and maybe a few of Trae's toys and perhaps one or two of Mister M's socks.
15. Would You Like To Be Born As Yourself Again? Yes, but only with thinner bones, LOL.
16. Morning Person Or Night Owl? Night Owl. I don't stay up as late as I use to. But I do love the evenings.
17. Over Easy Or Sunny Side Up? Neither! ICK!
18. Favorite Place To Relax: By the pool, on the beach or whereever my husband is.
19. Favorite Pie: Oats 'n Honey Granola Pie http://www.pillsbury.com/search/searchresults.aspx?terms=Oats+
This recipe is DEEElicious. If you ever make this, please note that the recipe is for 1 deep dish pie crust or 2 regular pie crusts. I made one for each of Jayla's teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week. They LOVED it! (Thanks for the recipe, Mom!)
20. Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Chocolate, Butter Pecan, Chocolate Almond Coconut (Brusters)


Ok, ok...I'm done for now. See what happens when I'm gone for a while? I can't stop talking ;). Anyway, ya'll have a great Holiday weekend and a wonderful upcoming week. I'll be talk to ya...

Thanks Gretchen!

Hello all. Well, I'm jumping on the "list" bandwagon again. I "borrowed" this one from Gretchen.

One Word Meme--answer the following questions with just one word. (NOTE: I'm not sure how some of these can be answered with ONE word. But I'm gonna try)

1. Where is your mobile phone? In the van
2. Relationship? married
3. Your hair? A MESS!
4. Work? SAHM
5. Your sister(s)?Kimmy
6. Your favorite thing? LOVE
7. Your dream last night? Weird (as always)
8. Your favorite drink? Dr. Pepper
9. Your dream car? Tahoe
10. The room you’re in? Playroom
11. Your shoes? Nikes
12. Your fears? Failure
13. What do you want to be in 10 years? Debt free
14. Who did you hang out with this weekend? Family
15. What are you not good at? Organizing
16. Muffin? blueberry
17. Wish list item? patience
18. Where you grew up? Georgia
19. The last thing you did? Taebo
20. What are you wearing?Work out gear
21. What are you not wearing? Glasses
22. Your pet? Trae (Dog)
23. Your computer? ON
24. Your life? Amazing
25. Your mood? Happy
26. Missing? Markell
27. What are you thinking about? Finances
28. Your car? Quest
29. Your kitchen? YELLOW
30. Your summer? HOT!!
31. Your favorite color? Purple
32. Last time you laughed? At Taebo
33. Last time you cried? At Taebo :-)
34. School? OVER
35. Love? LORD, Hubby, Kids, Chocolate

Now wasn't that fun? If anyone want to join in, feel free to do so. Have a groovy day!

That SUSIE Q!!!!

I can't believe it...that Susie Q has stumped me!! She CLAIMS that I'm the only "Dawn" whose blog she reads. And therefore, she tagged me on this list. Normally, I don't shy away from a quiz or a list...as I really enjoy doing them. But again...like I said...she stumped me.

Ok, I'm not gonna shy away from this one either. But I will say that I really struggled trying to come up with EIGHT random facts/habits about myself. During this struggle, I've come to the conclusion, that I'm a very uninteresting person...lol.

Well, Susie...because it's YOU...I did it :-). Hopefully, what you're all about to read about me won't stop you from continuing to read my blog. lol...I promise, it's not that bad.

Alrighty, Here are The Rules!

1. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts. 2. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves. 3. People who are tagged need to write in their own blog about their eight things and post these rules. 4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.

1. When I was about 7 years old, I met Muhammed Ali in LaGuardia airport in NY. He pointed at me and said, "HEY...I know you!" Then he came over and took a picture with me. I have NO idea where that picture is. But I'm sure he has a big poster of it somewhere in his home. I was kinda scared of him because he was so LOUD. And I thought he was gonna punch me :-).

2. I absolutely LOVE oldies music. Most of which, music that's older than I am. My hubby enjoys testing me by turning the TV to the oldies music stations, telling me not to look and tells me to guess what the song is. I "get it right" by either knowing the name of the song, who sings it or knowing some or all of the lyrics. 9 times out of 10, I'm right. He swears that, I'm neither "only" 40 or black :-) LOL.

3. I DO NOT like Doritos! However, I only eat them ON ham sandwiches. NO...not WITH ham sandwiches..ON them. There's just something about that cheesy crunch.

4. I was once in a car accident a with telephone pole...immediately followed by a minor fendor bender with the car of the police officer that stopped to assist. "But officer, that telephone pole came out of nowhere...and so did you!" Can you believe he let me go with a warning? I was a new, inexperienced driver. And somehow he noticed that and just let me go.

5. I read the same magazine about 4 or 5 times before I put it aside. The first time, it's just to skim the pages. 2nd time, I read SOME of the articles that caught my eye during the skim. The 3rd time is to read articles thoroughly and look at every detail of the photos. The 4th time, I glance through the magazine backwards (from the back cover, forward) this is where pages get dog eared for future glancing. What can I say? I have to make sure I get my moneys worth.

6. When I was a teenager, my mom always told me that, due to my constantly being on the telephone, I was gonna, one day, work at the phone company. Well, what does she know? So what I worked at BellSouth/Cingular Wireless for a little over 14 years!! LOL.

7. I am the biggest worrier I've ever known. NO...I didn't say WARRIOR....I said WORRIER!!! I can't help it. I am overly concerned about everything that's even worthy of a 2nd thought. I totally realize that more than 1/2 of what I worry myself sick about, there's nothing I can do about it. This in turn, makes me a very emotional person and a person who has a hard time sleeping. I cry VERY, very easily. I'm a mess....I know. But THIS is the kicker...I am also a very HAPPY person. I love to laugh and smile. I just happen to worry alot. So sue me...no, don't...it would just make me cry.. :-).

8. When my oldest daughter was about 2 years old, I accidentally locked her in the car in the dead of winter. Back in 1986, it wasn't the "law" that a child be in the backseat. But they did have to be in a carseat or booster. So, she was in her booster seat, in the passenger seat. I was on my way to take her to a babysitter so I could go to work. I'd forgotten something in the house, so I left her buckled in the car, heat on, radio on and doors locked. Well, I thought I'd left at least one door unlocked. I run in the house, come RIGHT back out and find the drivers side door locked. So I go to the back doors...LOCKED. Lastly, I go to the passenger door...LOCKED. Briyanna (my daughter) is sitting in her little seat, all bundled up, laughing at mommy running around the car. And what do I do?? I WORRY!!! I PANIC!!! It's about 7:00 in the morning and I have to be to work in an hour. A few days prior to this, Briyanna had learned to unlock the car doors. But oddly enough, she only knew how to unlock the drivers side (reason this is so odd is, all the locks are the same...go figure!) ANYWAY...I run in the house and wake up my step-father. He comes out into the cold with a hanger to try and jimmy the locks. My mother has decided to call 911! Back at the car...Briyanna is in there dancing and singing whatever is on the radio...LOL. She taps on the window, saying, "Hey mom...your song is on!" She has no clue that we're in the middle of a minor crisis. Finally, I remember that she knows how to unlock the door. So I go to the drivers side and call her to me. She looked so cute. She scrunches up her little face and says, "WHAT? Can I hear you???" I said, again..."Honey, come to mommy!" Somehow, she manages to climb out of her seat...even with that big ole winter coat on :-). So she's now kneeling in the drivers seat, grinning and kissing me through the glass...still singing and dancing. I say, "Baby, unlock mommy's door!" "WHAT?" she says. "UNLOCK MOMMY'S DOOR!!!". Then she says, "Wait a minny...I can hear you, mommy!" And what does she do next??? She rolls down the window! And then says, "What you say, mommy? Bri Bri can hear you good!" LOL And just as this all comes to an end, we look up and see this big red fire truck screaming down the street....at the same time that my step-father is about to smash out my back passenger window! What a funny morning THAT was.

WOW, finding EIGHT semi-interesting things about myself, was quite a task. But I did it. Hopefully, you all are still my friends...lol. Ok, from what I understand, I'm now supposed to select 8 fellow readers to do the same. Alright ladies, you're on: Adrienne, Diane, Veroncia, B.E.M., Jude, Leah, Cheryl, Gretchen & A Brasilian in Atlanta (Colleen). (Ok, I know that's 9 people...I kept thinking of more names) However, if there is anyone else who'd like to join in...please do. I'd love to read your list.

WHEW...I'm exhausted! Thanks SUSIE!!! lol