No Honey, There Should Definitely NOT Be Flames in the Microwave...

These are words you never want to hear come from your child's mouth, ever. I promised not to reveal the identity of the child who microwaved a frozen dinner roll for 3 minutes, setting it aflame. We'll just say that her name rhymes with "flegan". 

Can I tell you how good our kitchen smelled for the next 2 hours?

WE ARE PIGS!

We didn't really know we were pigs, we just had a feeling that our vacuum wasn't picking up like it used to – it is nearly 15  years old ya know. So yesterday morning Eric runs to Sam's to get a new one. Even at twice the price of any other vacuum in stock, we still opted to get the Dyson. If I'm going to be pushing this sucker (pun intended) around for the next 15 years...I want a good one. 

OH MY GOODNESS! Not exaggerating at all, we had to dump the container at least 5 times after vacuuming just the downstairs. This is after I had just vacuumed the day before. (with oldie) I'll spare you the pictures of the funk that came up from our carpet, it makes me shudder anyway. Just know that I'll be a walking commercial for this thing. 

My only complaint is how STUPID it looks. I mean really - it looks like something from The Jetsons. As a matter of fact, I have already named it Rosie.

Look how ridiculous...

Meet Rosie...

The Magic Basket

nem•e•sis |'nemesis\ n. the inescapable or implacable agent of someone's downfall.

Yes, that sounds about right.  Nemesis. 

How does this happen? There are four very average size people living in this house. It is not winter, so the sheer size of the pile cannot be attributed to the bulk of sweaters or sweatshirts. I KNOW that I just emptied this basket yesterday. Really. There is still a load of towels in the dryer as proof. Yet here it is, again. My laundry basket is magic. It can turn pure air into piles of dirty clothing. Take that David Copperfield!

*side note - If you have not yet rented the movie Smart People, don't.

Please Don't Call the Department of Child Services!

Okay, so we're trying to get ready to leave for our road trip to Chattanooga (Cleveland to be exact) at the CRACK OF DAWN. I put Cole down for 5 seconds in the driveway while his Dad puts in the car seat and loads in the diaper bags. Throw in the kid, hit the road. A few minutes later I turn around to see what he's doing... check the feet people!

(yes, that's a gigantic yawn :) poor baby is like his aunt Brandi - we don't do mornings!)

McBush

Waaaaaaaay too funny not to share! This photo is courtesy of Print Magazine's daily blog, The Daily Heller.

Yet Another Shameless Plug

I can't help it that my clients are awesome!

Meet Scott! He is the pickiest client I have ever had. We must have gone through 50 logos before we got it JUST the way he wanted it. This man knows what he wants! 

I tell you this because he carries that same picky attitude to work with him every day. We hired Scott to paint our two stairwells and the upstairs hallway (which involved some very high ceilings and a little scaffolding) - and let me tell you, he is METICULOUS! Absolute attention to every detail. The man filled even the tiniest microscopic nicks in our walls so that his paint job looked PERFECT. If you are in need of a professional, and I do mean professional painter - Scott is your man! You can find his number below.

Letters Home

Hey everybody!

Just wanted to share with you a cd project that was recently completed for David Gibson. He is an awesome songwriter and musician from Knoxville. If you're into Americana/Bluegrass style music, you're going to love this guy! You can hear some of his songs and purchase his cd through his myspace page. www.myspace.com/davidwgibson.

It's Here! First Day of School 2008!

It's here! It's finally here! The first day of school, and I couldn't be happier! :)

Look how much the girls have grown over this last year! My babies...

Pray!

My grandfather is in his last hour of heart surgery this morning, and all is going well so far.
Please say a prayer for his surgeon and staff, as well as for his recovery which will be long.

Thank you!!!

***Update: He's just come out of surgery and everything looks really good. He'll be in intensive care for a couple days - so keep those prayers coming!***

Gimme Five

Up high. Down low. Too slow! Tell me this is not the coolest dog in the world. Oh, how I love my puppy!

By the way, Alex is the sole dog trainer in this house. She has taught Casey to sit, lay down, crawl, and now to high five. I have the coolest kids in the world too.

Deja Vu

Going for a record here, two posts in one day - but I couldn't resist this one. Megan was sitting at the table eating her giant sucker, and when I looked up at her I was thrown back 11 years...

New Banner for The Lilac Cottage!

Hey Hey Hey everybody! Just finished my first design request for a blog banner. (well, the first one for a client - I've done several for myself and friends...) What fun! She wanted something whimsical with lots of color - I think we rocked it! She's a local artist and will be selling her wares through the site soon. You should check out her blog for the music alone! She's the one who turned me on to my new favorite of all time - Jack Johnson. Visit her here!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Okay, so I'm a couple days late...you don't check the blog every day anyway! :)

Whew! What a handsome fella! And who is that little angel you're holding? We haven't changed a bit, have we? If we have, I sure can't tell the difference...

Good Stuff!

After getting my computers up and running again today (long story), I was deleting a ton of old emails and ran across these gems. Just thought I'd share...

"Why You Should Never Let Your Mother-in-Law Order the Wedding Invitations"

2:00am Post

"Brandi, why are you posting this at 2 in the morning?" you may ask...

Maybe it's because a gigantic storm cloud decided to hover over our house for half the day, causing the power to go out - for half the day. This put me half-a-day behind in work, which I have decided to make up for - you guessed it - for half the night. Anyway, what's a girl to do with no computer or t.v. for half a day? If you're me, you take pictures. So get that scrolling finger ready....here we go.

Actually, the first 2 pictures were taken on Sunday when Alex was heading to her bff's "Red Carpet" party. Doesn't she look beautiful! 

And here are three of the other girls who were there at the time I dropped of Alex. (I don't know how many ended up coming, but I DO know that they stayed up all night!) Alex tends to be a tinsy winsy bit grumpy the day after a sleepover...

This is what Alex does when the power is out...

the child doesn't use a pick...hmmm.

And this is what Megan does when the power is out...

She is such a talented illustrator! She does the cutest "cartoony" people. 

And this is Alex's eye. he he :) Weird pic to post, I know...but I thought it was pretty.

Last but not least, check this out. Our new coffee maker has a fuel gauge! HA!

I have a sad, sad, sad little girl

Oh, how my heart breaks for my little teenage girl! She saved her baby-sitting money all summer long with visions of the new i-phone twinkling in her eyes. She literally counted down the days, minutes and seconds until the release for weeks. Now, to a thirteen year old in 2008, especially one with a head for money like her mamma (he he) $200 is doable. Little did we know the iphone is really $400 if your 2 year contract isn't quite up. (you were right Dad....) So what does an AT&T customer of over 5 years with a total of 5 lines on her account do? You know it! I called 'em up hoping that they would make an exception for such a great customer. I mean really, she'll qualify for the upgrade in just 5 little months...surely they can just hit a little button on their little computer and make this happen for me now, right? HA! Or to be more accurate – HA HA HA! Those {insert bad word here} would not budge. They blamed it all on apple, saying how apple had a very strict policy bla bla bla - but the issue is with the contract renewal date - an AT&T thing which has nothing to do with the phone! I mean really, all we wanted to do was SPEND SOME MONEY AT THEIR STORE!

{insert bad word again here} 

Alex is heartbroken but has not complained, which makes me even more upset that they won't help a mamma out. She's such a good kid, if they only knew her! Hmmmmmm...maybe I'll just start calling them every single day until they cave.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Clean & Green!

My very great friends Heather Sullivan and Emily Woods have started an eco-friendly cleaning business right here in Nashvegas! I've just gotten their site launched (although it's not completely done...so don't judge me! :) ) Visit them here. If anyone out there needs a cleaning service around the Nashville area [who doesn't!] - give them a call! They are FABULOUS!

Ever Wonder Where Logos Come From?

Ran across these at the LogoDesignLove blog. Aren't they He-lair-E-ous! (Eric's been making fun of me for saying "hilarious" too much, so there! I said something different!)

Mom had the fam over for dinner tonight, stuffed peppers - yummy! Here's some pictures of little Cole Buddy. Isn't he delicious! Can you believe he'll be 2 in a few months! My little nephew - 2 years old!!

The sweetest face in the world...right here folks.