BUTLER'S BLABBER: May 2010

DISNEY OR BUST!!! 5-26-10

This am we started the journey to "Disney" not Orlando...the girls could only focus on going to Disney. We made it here in great time. The girls were so great watching their movies and for Emma taking a cat nap. There have been so many amazing things that they have said and done today, but I wanna wait to tell you about them when I can upload the pictures. Smart me brought the lap top and camera and iPhone and everything else in the house except the High Definition memory card converter so I can't upload them. I just thought I'd post this to say that we are having a great time! Being with them as they uncover so many firsts is incredible. I am so thankful God blessed me to be their Aunt. Staying in a Hotel room with my brother...or in our case a mini house (Floridays Resort-thumbs up) reminds me of all the beach trips our family took every year. There was one moment where the girls heard someone say "Papa" and they turned to me and said Papa died. They then asked "why did Papa die?" That was difficult. I just said he was in Heaven with Jesus and then they moved onto the next thing. I do wish he was here to see them growing and turning into beautiful little girls. Ofcourse selfishly, I wish he was here for me too. Well, that's enough of that. I am thankful for all those family vacations that I got to take as a child and I'm thankful to be with Chris and Heather and the girls on their family vacation.

WORDS FOR THE DAY 5-24-10

Never regret something that once made you smile.

I think it's going to be my new mantra for a while. After all, I wouldn't be the person you all love if I didn't put my heart out there. So I guess I'll chance heartache and disappointment if I get to have even one moment of happiness and love.

PENSACOLA ADVENTURE 5-13 &14

Oh...the fun begins! Amanda, my business partner, and I headed to Pensacola for a Continuing Education class. We were originally signed up for one in Atlanta...or so we thought. The class was in College Park which we were quickly informed was not a safe place for two young ladies to go. So we switched the class to Pensacola for the next day. This was our first trip together so we both knew we were headed on an adventure. My friend, Mark, used to live in Pcola so he hooked us up with some great places to eat. My new Southbeach "lifestyle" didn't survive on this trip as you can imagine, but I didn't really care. I needed to get out of Valdosta and have a little R & R if even only for two days. Jerry's Cajun Cafe was a success. I'll spare myself by not telling you what we ate, but it was good. The wind was blowing like crazy so my dress looks rather interesting in this pic.

Our Holiday Inn hotel room was so nice!!! Not a resort by any means, but these days when the hotel room is more than just clean, I can't help but get a little excited.

and comfy!!!

My Bliss!!!! I absolutely love the beach. It's my favorite, favorite place. It's truly where I see God! The smell of the salt water, the feel of the breeze and the warmth of the sun, the vastness of the ocean, the ability to lay on the sand and have all my cares just melt away. Thank you God for creating such a blissful place.

I took these pics with my iPhone so there's no zoom. I was trying to capture the waves crashing...the red flag was waving meaning no swimming bc of the strong currents. If you look closely you can kinda see how big they were crashing right at the shore. The lifeguard said they had 6 saves that morning!!!

Amanda and I ready to soak up the sun. I love this pic of us and how the Pensacola Beach ball sign was in the background...it was like I strategically planned it, but I didn't.

The pier

I know you can't really tell what this is, but I thought it was hilarious. We were flipping from one side to the other trying to make sure we didn't fry one side of us. By the end of the day, I was covered in sand...and didn't care one bit. In fact, I didn't even notice all the sand on my legs until I flipped over so I took this pic. (I am a girly girl and don't usually like dirt on me anywhere, but once again...the beach is just so different!)

Driving back to the hotel over the long bridge.

Seriously look at what a pretty day it was! (Another car shot)

My friend told me this was his favorite place to eat. I quickly learned why! Also, we had a really cool experience with the waiter, Marlon. I paid for my meal with my business credit card which says HB Massage, INC on it. So when he came back with our slips to sign, he sat down. At first I got a little nervous, but then he asked who was the Massage Therapist. We said we both were and he told us he's a therapist too. He got burnt out from working at a spa and went back to serving at PLP's. It was a neat experience. He was talking about how he's concerned about his job at PLP's once the oil hits the beach. Sad. We talked to him about getting back into massage so hopefully we were encouraging!

The freshest snow crab legs ever! I asked Marlon why do they even put corn and new potatoes in the bucket. After eating some delicious apps and 1 1/4lb of crab legs, I had no intention of eating them. He laughed.

Amanda is kind of a pro at pulling out the crab meat. You know it's fresh when you can pull a piece out this long.

I was so happy! It was the end of an amazing day!

Me and my new boyfriend. I put this pic on fb and got like 20 comments on how good I looked and the not so great choice I made in a man. I was overwhelmed with gratitude and laughing at the same time.

Me, Pete, and Amanda

Breakfast at the hotel before the class got started. See how fresh and vibrant we looked at 7am!

The class was on releasing the rotator cuff and was really interesting. We learned a lot and have just got to figure out how to put it all into action. We even met a couple of guys in the class that were super helpful when we were trying to figure out if we were doing something right...guys with defined muscles always make better massage models! Although the teacher told me several times that I had really good tendons in my muscles...so today I will be thankful for that. lol

The road on the way home...goodbye ocean!

It seriously couldn't have been a nicer day to drive in. It was a great trip and even though it's 4 1/2 hrs to Pensacola, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't bat an eye at the chance to go again.

Here's us at the end of the night...not looking so fresh and vibrant! Thanks Amanda for making our first work trip together so great! I'm looking forward to many more!

MOTHER'S DAY 5-9-10 and MEETING MR HILL 4-25-10

I love you Mom! Thank you for giving me life. Thank you for loving me inspite of my flaws. I am so thankful that you are my Mom.

me and little miss priss...Emma Cat Cat. (Ella Grace didn't arrive until a little later with Gigi so I missed my photo opp with her.) I am so thankful God gave Chris and Heather these two angels. They are such a blessing to me. I really want children one day, but if they were as close as I will ever come to having children, I know I am blessed!

My beautiful sister in law with Emma

Heather and Ella Grace.

Aunt Susie and Jay

Side Note:Kudos to Longhorn for including me in the Mother's Day celebration. They brought out a free appetizer card on your next visit and a carnation for all the moms and they didn't discriminate with me.

Sunday April 25th I got to go to Moultrie and meet my friend Katie and Corey's new baby boy.

Me and little Cason

Cason Clark Hill...he was so snuggly...only a week old. He loves me already. :)
Someone saw my pictures on fb and said to me...you are so blessed to have so many nieces and nephews...can you keep them all straight? I am incredibly blessed with good friends who allow me to be a part of their entire lives.

BOO ON THIS WEEK 5-7-10

There's been so much sadness going on lately. I'll be selfish for a brief second and say that I'm sad that a relationship didn't work out for me which hasn't left me in the best of moods. We have had several deaths of Valdosta people in the last few days, 4 of which I knew personally. I think about the people in Nashville, TN whose lives are forever changed by the recent flood. On top of those, the oil spill which has the potential to cause major havoc to our beaches and ocean life. It's very hard to see that God is carrying us through this time...even though I know that he is!! I know that His plan is greater and better than we could ever imagine or fathom, but it's just so difficult to wait on His timing or His plan especially when we have no comprehension of either! Someone told me I hadn't done a lot of blogging on my feelings lately so there's a sample. It hasn't been a good week and I'm glad that it's almost over with. I pray that God will renew my spirit and heal my heart as well as all the others who have been affected by the recent tragedies/losses. It is my prayer that He would make me abundantly aware of all the wonderful things He is trying to do in me. I do thank Him everyday for allowing me to have such amazing friends and family who love me and I can love back. I know/hope one day when His plan has been made complete that I will be able to look back on this post and tell God I'm sorry for ever doubting His perfect plan for me. (Thanks to you know who you are...) I am asking that God just please let me see the candle flicker in my dark tunnel. I know there's a light at the end of the tunnel, but I just feel like I'm in total darkness sometimes. So that's what I'm asking for...a candle flicker.

CABARET 4-24-10

Getting ready for Cabaret...Jan came over to help get me Hawaiian styled and Melanie and Amanda back to the 80s.

Mel with her 80s hair and me with my crazy curls before they got tamed.

Check out these hot 80s ladies.

Amanda, Jan, and me. I think we entertained Jan more than she worked.

So it was the Cabaret Club's Silver anniversary party. Instead of a theme, you could dress from any theme of the past 24 years. It was so funny seeing what people came up with. Nicole Steel dressed in some grunge clothes. She and her husband Adam won the award for the best outfits.

Matt and Holle Roberts as glammed up prom dates.

Justin and Susanna Martin in their Kentucky Derby style.

Chuck and Susan Steel as Ross and Rachel from the tv show Friends when they went to Vegas and got married.

Max and Elizabeth Oliver...Max was Brett Michaels and Liz thought she was just an average rocker chic, but everyone thought she was a ringer for Avril Lavigne.