Swine Flu?

So, ok.  It's not REALLY called the swine flu anymore.  They are now calling it H1N1 Influenza A.  Looks like the hiney flu to me!!!!  Get it H1NI (hiney?).  Oh nevermind.  :)

Anyway, YES.  We are still going to Mexico in a month.  That's right guys, we are within 30 days of our wedding, AND our fabulous Mexican honeymoon.  We are going to be just south of Cancun, which according to the map I have been following does NOT show outbreaks anywhere near it.  I know that they are saying that someone from our area is in Georgia with a case of it, and recently returned from Cancun.  But how does that work?  Someone that went to Cancun comes home and gets sick, but there are no reported individuals from that area.  FAR from it actually.  Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I did check my map a bit ago, but maybe they aren't updating it quickly enough.

Anyway, unless President Obama closes all borders to travelers (which the CDC says would not be logical or economically beneficial) then we plan to go on with our plans.  Our resort IS offering a switch from our original location to their sister location in the Dominican Republic (with no charge) if this occurs or if someone feels safer this way. And airlines are being super generous by waiving the change fees as well.  Of course, we have to sit tight until our date falls into these time windows, so we won't know for sure until even closer to time.  

The only other way we would NOT go to Mexico is if everything is shut down besides the resort. Currently, many off site restaurants, churches, schools, and other locations are shut down in hopes of slowing down the spread of the virus.  Which is incredibly smart in my opinion.  However, if I'm going to go to the country, I want to see the place! I want to visit the ruins, and participate in the many included tours and excursions we paid for along with relaxing in the sun.  If for some reason we catch wind that these tours and excursions are cancelled for our week, we may consider switching to the Dominican so that we can have the opportunity to leave the resort and take advantage of the included tours and excursions there.  So we are sitting tight, planning to take our trip as normal unless something extreme happens. Regardless, I AM going SOMEWHERE in 30 days.  Jason and I need a vacation so badly, we WILL find somewhere to go.  

I know this thing is scary.  I know it's a new strand of the flu that we have never experienced before and don't have a vaccine for.  BUT really.  People die from the regular flu every single day.  People catch the regular flu. The "hiney" flu can be treated just as easily as a "regular" flu virus.  Plus, this thing has already spread so much that Jason and I are at just as high of a risk of catching it here at home as we would be in Mexico.  We plan to be cautious, take Vitamin C, wash our hands frequently, and treat this as any other illness.  Make sure we are as healthy as possible, and see a doctor if either of us begins to feel sick.  

On this same topic-you have to read this conversation my family and I had via facebook today.  A lot of what I said is repeated in here, but there are some pretty funny remarks.  So as requested by Amy, here it is (I'm editing the names in here for you guys!):  

Heather Curses the Swine Flu

Rita

Me too Heady.....I dont like the fact that it is possibly in our area now. Keep those babies home

Paige

Me too! We are leaving for Mexico soon!

Rita

OH NO Paige....I totally forgot....they may not let anyone in Mexico by then.....thought of changing plans?

Rita

The lady from Warren Co. that has it was in Cancun for Spring Break and now has it.

Heather

Yeh, Paige, you should travel north instead of south...maybe Alaska? :p

Paige

I saw that-but there have been no reported outbreaks in Cancun, so I'm not sure how related it is. The CDC is currently saying that it would be economically and logically impossible to close borders since the disease has already spread. If they do, our resort has a sister resort in Dominica that we can switch to for no charge.

I'm not too worried about it though-the flu is the flu, people are freaking out about it because they have no vaccine yet, but it CAN be treated just as easily as the regular flu. And God bless our media, for making everything 100 times worse.

Rita

I dont know if any place is safe for travel right now....it is even overseas!

Heather

Ditto Paige...the media is making it out to be waaay worse than what it actually is...people die EVERYDAY from the "regular" flu...

Paige

Yep-but its here too-so we are just likely to get it if we go there or stay here. Lots of Vitamin C and hand sanitizer.

Paige

Amen Heather. Common sense is the best thing. Don't lick anyone if you go to Mexico, take vitamins, wash your hands, the NORMAL stuff. Luckily we live in a place with great healthcare that can treat us easily.

Destiny

does Jerm have it for sure??? hope not :[

Paige

Hope Jeremy feels better!

Heather

LOL, No Jeremy does NOT have the swine flu...lmao.

Julia

Destiny is loving her some Big Jerm - LOL! Sooo worried he has the Swine Flu - LOL!

Amy

Paige... you should totally cut and paste this conversation into your blog. It's quite entertaining... especially the comment about not licking people in Mexico ;-)

Paige

I should. But seriously. I don't see Mexico as anymore dangerous for the swine flu than home anymore-just don't lick the people! :)

Angela

I think we should curse the media more than the swine flu....

So there you have it guys.  My take on the hiney flu!

Feeling sick?  Check out these two links to see if you might have the swine flu!!   :) They are pretty accurate ;)

http://doihavepigflu.com/

http://doihaveswineflu.org/

Negligent Blogger

I'm SO sorry guys.  I'm a sucky blogger right now.  But I DO have some funny stuff, info, and cute stuff for you all!!

Let's get right to Riley's Birthday party last weekend! She was a DOLL!

Isn't this cake adorable?? Props to my sister, this thing was SO neat!

Riley diving into her cupcake.  She wasn't too excited about it though, it was getting close to her nap time.Uncle Jason showing Riley how to use the buckle on her new swing given to her from Granny and Pappy (my parents).

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY AND THE WORLD IS MINE!! I love this photo, and the little butt in it.
Aunt Angie called to sing to Miss Riley! Too bad Riley hung up on her, and we had to beg for an encore. ;)
Playing on the slide with her Aunt Paigey.  :)
She LOVED to inspect that swing buckle!
And she was also pretty obsessed with Mom's camera case.
Check out that hat!
Sweet Riley in my lap! The sun was in her eyes, but that didn't stop her from being cute!
Riley with Granny (my mom).
Riley with Pappy (my dad).

Happy Birthday sweet Riley!

Terrible

I am a terrible terrible blogger lately.  I can't seem to think of anything to talk about.  My life is pretty monotonous right now.  I can't even seem to find humor in things that I normally do right now.  Sigh.  I'm hoping I can start being a better blogger again. 

I DO have some pictures to show you from Riley's first birthday, and SOON.  I promise guys!  She was super cute, but that just goes without saying.  And yes, I'm biased.  But even if I wasn't biased, she was super cute ;).

My hair trial appointment for the wedding is tomorrow night!! WOO!!!

So to the few of you that I KNOW check this and are beginning to wonder where I am disappearing to, I'm sorry!!

AND let's end on a happy note: SWEET BABY STELLAN WENT HOME TODAY!!!!!!!!!

MIA

I have unintentionally been M.I.A. all weekend. I have LOTS of pictures to share from Riley's first birthday. It seems like all my posts are picture posts!!! I'll have them ready to share sometime tomorrow, I promise!!

Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! Keep praying for baby Stellan, he might FINALLY get to go home!!!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Birthday Sweet baby Riley.

Weirdo Wednesdays

Sorry guys, I totally missed Stupid People Sundays, so I'm going to make up for it now! I have several blogs prepared for the next few days, let's hope I follow through!

Instead of Stupid People Sunday, I'm making this "Weirdo Wednesday" for all those nuts I encountered LAST week.

Let's start with one that "thankfully" did not happen to me, but a friend of mine at another workplace. They were having a going away party for one of their coworkers who finished her internship. Let's call her Sally. My friend thought it would be really nice to have a cake for her at work that day to sent. So off to Wal-Mart she runs. When she picked up the cake for Sally, instead of the cake saying "Good Luck, Sally" it reads "Good Lucky, Sally." When my friend told the baker that the cake was not written correctly, the baker looked at her dumbfounded and said "I don't have any idea what you are talking about."

And I have another stupid customer. But don't worry, it doesn't involve much insurance jargo. I had a customer purchasing a new home, and we have to get quite a bit of information on it. How big is the house, is it brick or siding, etc. So I ask the gentleman if the home has a garage attached to the house and if so, how many cars does it fit? He responds with, "Yes, we have a garage but it is only one car. The garage door is MUCH bigger than it should be though. But since there is only one door, only one car can go through it." Confused, I said "Are you sure it isn't a double door to fit two vehicles?" He says "No, it's only one door. Only one car can get through one door no matter how wide it is." Oh dear.

I simply HAVE to pick on my co-worker B. She's not stupid by any means, but she did have a blonde moment the other day. She was working on an application for a home loan, and there is a place that you have to list the person's income, assets, and other things of value. When the place that she was supposed to list "stocks, bonds, and other investments" she went up to my boss and said, "What do they mean to list stocks? Livestock? I need to list all their cows and stuff? He has a bunch of them." Oh, the mind of a country girl is never too far away. :)

Happy Birthday Riley!

So I know I haven't blogged in forever. My bad attitude has really gotten the best of me over the past week, and I really didn't want to fill a blog full of negativity. I was going to post a "Moron Monday" since I missed "Stupid People Sunday" but I got crazy busy and didn't get a chance. I'll make it up to you all with this post!

How can a bad attitude stick around with this cutie? Below are some shots of my sweet niece's 1 year photos. It's hard to decide which are my favorites, so I'll show you as many as I can! I can't believe sweet Riley will be a year old tomorrow. Happy Birthday sweet baby girl!
Obviously the tutu pictures are my favorites.

Angel baby.

Who can resist that toothy smile and adorable hat?

Chef Riley!

The next spokesperson for Pillsbury.

The "after" cake face. I don't know how these got all mixed up, but this is the end result of her cake smashing.

Eating the cake...

Hey MOM! This cake is GOOD!

Sassy with the bunny.

Let's pull the bunny's ear...

And then give it kisses.

I'm 1!!!!

Riley and Mommy.

Riley and Daddy.

The entire family.

Happy Birthday Princess!

Blah

My bad attitude has floated into today. Therefore, unless something changes, I won't be blogging until my bad attitude is gone.

Everyone have a great day!

Not So Wordless Wednesday

I'm just going to flat out admit it. I don't like wedding planning. I think I'm the only bride in the world that really just doesn't like it. I know roughly what I want, but if you want me to take a fine comb over every detail, it's probably not going to happen. And as a bride, all of your vendors and people involved want you to do that. Not fun. Like for example-let's talk about flowers. I told the florist "I know I want white flowers, and I'm thinking along the lines of the hydrangea bloom, but if they are going to be outrageously expensive, another bloom similar will be fine." Well the hydrangea ended up being decently prices, and I thought that was that. Oh no. "Do you want an accent flower? Do you want greenery? How many blooms per bouquet? What about boutonnieres?" The list went on and on. My answer? "I don't care, whatever you think looks best." That answer doesn't really fly. OH how I wish it did. I wish I could just give the basic ideas in my head to someone, and let them run with it.


I really wanted to do a "get married on the beach" kind of wedding, but I feel like down the road I would have really missed my extended family being there. And Jason really wanted a wedding with all of his family there as well. However, the original guest list surpassed 300 people. Uh, no thanks. First of all, my wonderful parents are willing to pay for this wedding, and hosting something for 300 was out of the question. Second, this is a WEDDING, not a movie premiere. Nothing against anyone that had or will have a huge guest list, it's just not for me. I feel that our personal touch would be lost with that many people. The ability to have a small conversation and thank each guest for taking time out of their day to celebrate with us is extremely important to me. I don't see how that's possible for a list of 300 without skipping something big, like eating or breathing. Anyone that CAN do that, that's wonderful. It's just not for me at all. So we decided to meet in the middle.


We found a location that only held a certain number of people so that we could keep the guest list to immediate family, and the friends that are closest to Jason and I that have been around for years. It is also a location that is doing quite a bit of the "fine comb" details without consulting me, which I love. I don't care what the forks look like, I don't care exactly how the chairs are placed. This place does and provides quite a bit of this for us, so we were both happy.


My attitude really sucks about this whole wedding situation right now. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my hubby-to-be and I can't wait to marry him. But this whole wedding deal? Not so much. My parents are doing SO much to make this day as special and wonderful as it can possibly be, but I hate that right now all their extra time and energy is going towards this wedding. I know they have lots of things they want to do for themselves, and they are giving it up right now to help Jason and I plan this wedding. They've really gone above and beyond to make everything perfect. A few nights ago, they surprised us with a driver to take us to the airport and pick us up from the airport so that we won't have to worry about driving while we are still tired and save money on long term parking. I'm extremely grateful and appreciative of everything they've done, but part of me feels guilty about it too.

What troopers they have been-they haven't complained once about anything. I know they are stressed with it, and I know it's hard for them because I am the youngest:but they never once complain about any of it because it is what they have offered to do and WANT to do. That in itself really makes me feel better because nothing makes me feel worse than someone OFFERING and saying they want to do something for you, and then tell you the whole time how inconvenienced they are or how big of a burden it is. I've experienced that a lot over the past year, and I really hate it. I genuinely and sincerely appreciate everyone and everything that has contributed to this wedding, but it is frustrating when the offer gets laid out on the table only to later have to feel guilty about taking the offer.

But then, just when I get really down and out about it, someone does something extremely sweet for us and overwhelms us with the thought. One of my dearest friends from high school/dance class, Cecily, sent us the sweetest gift. She was married a few years ago, and said she was going to create an "advice book" for us. It has been a running joke, and I never expected to actually see it. I got it in the mail last week. It's beautiful. It has the sweetest letter, the funniest pieces of advice, and some of the best pieces of advice I've been given to date. She worked so hard on it, and even left several pages empty for us to use throughout the rest of our wedding festivities. We are going to use it at my shower this weekend for marriage tips from all of the guests, and I think we are even going to use it as our guestbook at the ceremony. It's a beautiful, thoughtful gift, and there is nothing more that I would love to do that fulfill her thoughts with the book. We had created a guestbook of engagement photos last year, and planned on using it as our guestbook-but I'm throwing it out the window. This one has so much more meaning to it. She and I always had an interesting relationship. We laughed-A LOT. And since we came from different high schools and had different sets of friends, we were able to vent to each other with full trust that it wouldn't fire back on us later. She is truly one of the best people I have ever encountered. She was always dancing to the beat of her own drum and everyone loved her for it. Cecily, if you come across this, THANK you so much. Our silly joke turned into one of the most thoughtful gifts I have ever received.

And then lo and behold, my college best friend shows up at my house last night to do the same thing. She has to be out of town this weekend for a volleyball match and has to miss the shower. I'm pretty sad about it, but her life is CRAZY busy during the semester so I understand. But I know she will be over as soon as she is back in town to look at all the pictures and take in everything she can. She shows up and presents us with a gorgeous wine rack for our kitchen. Here's a picture of it: isn't it pretty? It was so sweet of her to bring this to us just to let us know she was thinking of us this weekend and wished she could be there. It was more of the gesture to let us know (even though we already did) that she would be there if she could, that really made me smile. Thanks Meg, we LOVE IT and we love you.

Well, I think this wraps up my "bad attitude" post for the week, and I promise that the rest of my posts this week will have an upbeat attitude! Have a great day everyone!

Easter and Landscape

This is mainly going to be a photo blog. Excited? Of course you are.

Happy Easter! We spent a lot of our weekend landscaping.  Here is our ugly landscaping and green shutters the day we closed on the house:New Trellis:

One of our hydrangea bushes:
Us on Easter outside the house (you can see the new brown shutters here!)

Around the mailbox:
The front of the house after:
Us, exhausted!! And this was AFTER a nap!