2008 Elections

I am definitely not one to discuss politics, although I have VERY STRONG OPINIONS! I think your political affiliation is your own business and only leads to nasty discussions, especially among Christians, because it seems to be assumed we're all supposed to be voting for the same candidate. So, I will keep my opinions to myself. My car will not be bearing any bumper stickers next year, although there is one candidate I am completely pulling for, and if another certain candidate wins the election, I will beg Greg to move to Canada!

Last time I really watched the debates was back in 2000, because it was a requirement for my Political Rhetoric class at UT. But, the other night Greg and I watched the Democratic debates, just to see who was out there and what was being said, and for once in my life, I actually enjoyed it! All questions for the candidates were off of You Tube (real people asking real questions). It was extremely cool! Here's the link to CNN's website, if you'd like to take a look. They have divided the debate into four parts.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/24/youtube.debate.video/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Enjoying the last of summer!

I just noticed tonight that I haven't posted in almost two weeks. I've been busy trying to enjoy my last few days of summer!

My week in Nashville was great and very relaxing. This week, I've tried to do a few projects around here, so my summer won't seem like a complete waste! I've been cleaning carpets, baseboards, hanging up pictures, running a million errands, etc. I have a few more things on my list to do before school starts.

Greg took Connor to see "Thomas Live" on Tuesday. I was sad it was a "boy's only" night, but I surprised Connor with a new Thomas shirt and a pair of light up Thomas tennis shoes. He was very excited and told me, "Mom, I'm gonna look so cool tonight!"

Today, Greg and I took Connor to Dollywood. We had a great time. Connor really doesn't ride many of the rides anymore. He's all about the shows. Today we saw "Hank the Cowdog", "The Little Engine That Could", and watched the Illusionists. That was fine with us because it was hot and crowded! Disney has ruined Greg, because everytime he's at Dollywood, he's always griping about how Disney does it better. Ummmm, honey........IT'S DOLLYWOOD!

Tomorrow, I'm taking Connor to North Carolina to visit my grandmother. I told you, I'm packing it all in!

I technically go back to work a week from this coming Monday, but I have two meetings next week, and I have to get my classroom set back up, so really, I go back to work this Monday. Boo! The only thing keeping me in a good mood is our lake trip next weekend. I can't wait to relax and hang out with our best friends......and it's adults only, so it will be an extra relaxing 3 days! It will be a GREAT way to end a great summer.

This summer seemed so short, but it's been fun! And.....only 3 months to Disney!

Leaving Again!

Over Spring Break, we went to Hilton Head. We came home and our air conditioner (outside unit) was broken.

This week, we went to Florida. We came home and...........can you guess......yes, our air conditioner (upstairs unit) is broken.

I don't think our air conditioner likes us going to the beach!

Anyways, Greg is heading to the studio for a couple of days and has a show in Georgia on Friday, so instead of being stuck in an 85 degree house, I'm heading to Nashville to spend some time with my friend Nancy!

On the road again!

Back Home (sniff... sniff)

Feeling Pretty Relaxed

We've been on vacation in Florida since Sunday. Usually an Adkins family vacation conisists of so much "go..go..go" that we come home more worn out than when we left, but we were absolutely determined to have a true, relaxing vacation and we have! I think we've gotten out of our bathing suits twice! My mother-in-law joined us for a few days, but she went home this morning. She is always fun to have on vacation. She takes such care of us, and Connor adores her!

Connor has absolutely loved the beach. This is his third time at the beach, but the other two trips were when he was much smaller. He loves to dig in the sand, swim in the pool, the hot tub, and he has learned to boogie board (he's pretty good at it). I haven't felt this stress free in a while! It's great when the hardest thing you do all day is decide what SPF of sunscreen to put on!

I am dreading coming home Saturday and dreading going back to work in a couple of weeks even more! Where did my summer go?

Random Post

Greg did a "Ten Facts About Me That You Don't Know" post a while back, and I thought it was so funny, because it was so true! I thought I'd copy my husband, just because I'm bored and not ready to go to sleep yet. (Summer really messes up my sleep schedule! I would've been in bed two hours ago during the school year!) Okay, so here it goes:

10. A CLEAN HOUSE: I love a clean house, a dirty house puts me in the worst mood ever, I don’t even want to be in it, BUT I hate to clean...unless I am mad! Cleaning when I am mad makes me feel better.

9. COFFEE: I have to have a cup of coffee every morning. If I don’t get at least one cup of coffee in my body by 8:00 a.m., I literally cannot function.

8. CLOTHES: I am addicted to clothes…literally addicted. It’s shameful! There are things in my closet that I’ve worn one time, a few things I’ve never even worn. I avoid wearing the same thing twice, I can’t stand it. It’s so, so, stupid. Some people drink when they have a bad day, I buy a new shirt. It’s a bad, bad, thing! But, I am a bargain shopper...well, that's how I justify it anyways.

7. SHOES: I have 82 pairs of shoes….I know…ridiculous. I know that I have that many pairs because Greg opened my closet one time and was so disgusted that he made me count them. I am pretty sure half of them are flip flops...I love flip flops!

6. FEET: I can’t stand for people to touch my feet…sometimes getting a pedicure even creeps me out a little.

5. MASSAGES: I do not understand massages. I do NOT ever want a stranger touching me with half of my clothes off.

4. BEING BLONDE: People treat me like I am an idiot ALL THE TIME! People always assume I don’t understand what is going on. If you don’t believe me, spend a day with me! One time at a conference, I got done with an activity way before the rest of the group, because quite frankly, it wasn’t that hard…. and a random girl actually leaned across the table and said, “Do you really understand what we are supposed to be doing? You sure finished early.“ I am usually a kind person, but I responded, “Are you asking because you think I’m too stupid to understand, or are you asking because you need my help?” That was probably bad…..but sometimes it’s too much. BUT….sometimes it can be fun, surprising people that I actually have a brain. I graduated from highschool with honors, from college with honors, and from graduate school with a 4.0. Objects in the mirror are not as dumb as they appear.

3. HIGHSCHOOL: I can count the fond memories I have of highschool on one hand. I hated it. Life got really fun for me after I graduated college. My mid-twenties to now have been the best years of my life.

2. HOCKEY PUCK: I once was at a Knoxville Icebears game, sitting in a VIP box on the ice, and within the first two minutes of the game, a puck came over the plexiglass and hit me in the face so hard that it broke my nose (the puck didn't even touch my nose, just the impact made it break). I don't remember much, but I do reacall a lot of blood, a lot of pain, and an ambulance taking me away.

1. TELEPHONE: I might be the only girl in the world that hates to talk on the phone, which totally stinks because I lose touch so easily with my friends. I would much rather meet at Starbucks and talk over a cup of coffee. I have vowed this summer to do better, and get over it, because I have found myself losing touch with friends I love so much. Today, I talked on the phone with three people (not including Greg and my mom). It was a big step!

Basically, I love people. I love social settings. I love to smile. I love to laugh. I give terrible first impressions, because I can be quiet and people take it as me being stuck up, but really I'm just afraid that someone is not going to like me. Once you get to know me, I will talk your ear off. I know there are lots of things that I need to work on...especially the whole clothes and shoes addiction, but I am trying to be a better friend, wife, and mother every day. I am trying to be less selfish and more giving, do less talking and more listening, and just be kinder and more positive.

Okay, so that's way too much personal information for the internet. I better go to bed.

My Real Summer Begins

Summer school is finished! My real summer vacation has now begun! I don't know what I'd do if I had to have a real job! Twenty-nine years, and I've always had summers off!

Anyways, I know I've been terrible about posting on here. Mostly, because I don't have much to say lately, but tonight I ordered a new camera, one I've dreamed about having for a while now, so I will have lots of pictures to post! My dad is a great photographer, and did it on the side as a hobby when I was growing up. We even had a darkroom in our house in Birmingham. I always loved helping him develop pictures, and I remember being so dumbstruck as a picture appeared before my very eyes, as I would help him rock photo paper back and forth in a tray of nasty smelling stuff. It always amazed me how that image got captured and made to appear on a piece of paper. Since then, I have always loved pictures, taking them, looking at them, and still trying to figure out the science of it all...so I am so excited to finally have a nice camera.....and in time for our beach vacation next week! Hopefully it will be here by Thursday, so I can start playing before we leave on Sunday! And...I'm really glad it's all digital now, so I don't have to smell those nasty chemicals.

I've got a pretty laid back week. Tomorrow, I start off my vacation with a house cleaning party...fun times! Wednesday we're having a big 4th of July celebration at my parents, Thursday and Friday Greg is in Asheville starting his new album, and Sunday we're leaving for a week in Florida.

I can't decide if I'm excited that summer school is finally over, or sad that today is July 1st.....where did the first half of my summer go?