Category: As blogged by Suz

The Final Countdown: Let Us Know, Let Them Eat Cake And Let’s Not Do That.

On By SuzIn As blogged by Suz22 Comments

This week marks three weeks until Lolo and Nathan’s big day. DID tell you there was going to be a wedding? Did you just roll your eyes?

I forgot to share these photos that I shared at their shower; Lolo (left) Halloween 2005 and I’m guessing this was halloween for Nathan also, or maybe he was preparing for his Marine journey early.

Enough of the pleasantries, I have some bones to pick.

People who can’t RSVP

Lolo sent Save The Date notices 6 months ago, then she sent the invites in plenty of time. Some people still can’t get their shit together enough to go to her website and say NO or YES and choose a meal. I even sent text reminders stating that you still might be able to show up for the wedding, but pack a sammich because I’m not sharing my dinner.

While I’m on the subject of not responding to invitations. The co-ed shower we hosted, it was quite small by my party standards. COVID. Tell me. If someone sends you an invitation do you respond even if you are not able to attend?

Me? I’m SO thrilled that someone thought of me that I always respond whether I can attend or not.

Fun What?

The future bride and groom finally chose their cake and if you thought that they were serious grown ups Police officers you’ll be surprised that their favorite cake flavor is FunFetti

Pic borrowed from Here

Of course, the outside of the cake will be classy, serious and grown-up, but the inside? It’s 13 years old and I adore that.

Remove Your Pants

A few weeks ago the Coach and I went to Dillards to pick out a suit for him. If he had his druthers he would wear jeans, a dress shirt & sport coat and a pair of his favorite boots. If this was a barn wedding, I would have allowed this. THIS is a bonafide upscale wedding with assigned seating, plated dinners, gowns, funfetti cake and shit, so no jeans.

I didn’t realize when you purchase a suit that the pieces ARE already married. The pants & the jacket are a couple who stay together, at least at this establishment. We started with the jacket; found a great color and style, he tried it on right there in the men’s department and we were pleased. Next he took the pants into the fitting room to see if they worked or what needed to be altered.

He casually walked out of the fitting room and MY JAW DROPPED.

PLEATED PANTS?!

I couldn’t say a word as my brain was trying to compute: WHAT YEAR IS THIS?

It didn’t take as long as expected for me to realize it’s currently 2021 and my husband who I adore more than anyone isn’t built for pleated pants. Sadly, he didn’t realize this until he read my facial expression.

He said: You don’t like them?

Me: NO! They’re horrible. Please take them off before I can’t unsee them.

It appeared that he was trying to smuggle a five pound bag of potatoes and I was worried this might be the end of our love life.

So, we had to start over with the suit and we went through making sure anything we might like had FLAT front pants. It didn’t take long until we were successful, but I thought I should warn all of you that out there, in the wild, people are still able to purchase pleated pants.

That’s all I have to say about that.

RSVP’s? Do you only respond if you can attend? Please dish.

XO

I Can’t Unsee That, Thinking Of My Friends And Adoring My Weirdo.

On By SuzIn As blogged by Suz27 Comments

Last week I loaded up the dogs and headed North to GA for a little get-away-from-the-pool-destruction and to help my Aunt and Uncle as they move into their new home. Our drive is usually uneventful, but not this time. I was almost out of Florida near the turnpike and I saw in my peripheral, in the distance on the southbound lane what I thought was a huge puff of smoke, then I saw a BODY projecting through said smoke.

*My brain: did I just see what I think I saw?

I slowed down a bit while trying to process and by the time I got near the scene of the smoke my brain said: YEP, you saw what you saw!

My heart was racing, my fingers kind of went numb as I slowed even more, now going around 55 as I passed the scene I saw the once-flying-man-on the road; he was on his hands and knees trying to stand while I also saw (I’m still driving) the shell/cab of the semi truck slowly sliding away from the main part of the truck and then I saw what appeared to be another semi truck behind it. I put 2 and 2 together and I realized it was TWO semi trucks that collided. There were cars traveling south behind the scene as I was dialing 911.

BTW: If you ask Siri to dial 911, that b*tch won’t.

I got ahold of 911, let them know where the accident was and that I wasn’t able to stop as I was on the other side of 75 and still moving.

It happened SO fast and at the same time, my brain played it over again in slow motion. I figured out that the ‘smoke’ I saw wasn’t smoke from a fire, but maybe from the impact? Or because one of the trucks were refrigerated?

Ya’ll. This haunted me. I called the Coach so he could talk me down as my adrenaline was out of this world. We forged on, the dogs slept through my anxiety but I couldn’t shake the eery feeling of what I’d witnessed.

I was praying that both drivers were ok, but from the look of what I saw, how could they?

For 24 hours, I couldn’t shake it. I spoke to Lolo the next day asking if there was a way for her to look into it, but she said the best thing to do is a google search with any details. (road, county, date etc)

And I did.

They both survived. Thank you Baby Jesus.

The guy who FLEW out of his truck wasn’t wearing a seat belt, (who does that?) he drifted onto the shoulder where a semi-truck (Blue Bell ice cream) was parked. They both walked away with minor injuries.

Me? I’m still a bit scarred from it and I avoided being near any semi-trucks for the duration of our trip.

Two of my dear friends are in major health crisis’ right now. It’s hard to share happy things when that is weighing on my heart. It’s hard to be my lighthearted and my silly self when I’m worried about them. You get that, right?

If you can, send up some positive vibes, prayers and good mojo for my friends M & C. Both of whom I’ve met through blogging and are extra special humans. M is an extra special friend to my girls, my Mom and I.

To end on a happier note.

Similar to Hoovers’ “A Chicken In Every Pot”, I have my own motto: A Dog Bed In Every Room.

If there’s one thing I can control in this life, it’s my dogs’ comfort.

Our dogs have multiple beds in just about every room in our house. Plus Lillie gets to free range on the couches/chairs ’cause she’s so small. She loves to sit on my lap when I’m at my desk, occasionally I’m cruel and send her to her bed under the craft table.

Side eye much?

ladi, I tink dis bed shood be ON yur lap, but I takk whut I git.

I don’t think I could love that one eared, damaged trachea, pee’s all the time, non-dog-friendly old lady any more than I do.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has witnessed a terrible accident. Please tell me the memory will fade just as my math skills have.

Signed,

Your traumatized friend Suz

XOXO

Who Doesn’t Love A Renovation Reveal?

On By SuzIn As blogged by Suz27 Comments

I know you and you love a good ‘after’.

We started discussing an update for this room (and hallways, 1 guest room and a guest bath) about three years ago; I’m here to tell you that dreams DO come true!

We finally finished my craft/laundry/office update.

BTW: I don’t really craft any longer and I don’t host meetings for 15-21 Girl Scouts in here any more, but I do use this room daily.

Do we remember what it looked like before? It wasn’t horrible, but it was due for a refresh.

Of course I didn’t take a PROPER before pic, but these old ones will have to do. A pic as we started packing up my stuff, another from the days-gone-by when I was organizing photos and one from a time that we actually stored an extra queen sized bed in here for a few months.

In order to paint the cabinetry, all the doors and drawer fronts had to be removed. Ya’ll this about killed me. Seeing ALL the crap I had been storing for 18 years. This pic is AFTER I started cleaning/clearing out.

I might win the award for the Most Crap Kept Behind Closed Doors. Do you think I saved the Easy Bake Oven just in case our oven quit?

Believe it or not, some of the drawers are now empty.

TIME TO GO SHOPPING.

Kidding.

When we first built this add-on room we used Pergo laminate flooring because it was new-fangled and we could afford it. WE HATED IT. *clink, clink, clink* So loud and hollow to walk on. When we redid the floors in the front of the house I was SO thrilled that we could bring those travertine floors through the back of the house. Then when we really redid the front of the house (total renovation) and had to redo the floors (again) I really wanted the front and the back to be cohesive.

We are now almost completely cohesive; at least cohesive enough for me to not lose sleep over it.

Is anyone mad at me for NOT using wood on the craft tabletop? I went back and forth with this and I thought I’d decided on WOOD and the Coach thought I’d decided on QUARTZ and ordered the material. We should name our house Communication Central.

We went back and forth on the washer/dryer placement for almost a year. Do we stack and modify the cabinets? Do we move them to the right? We finally settled on leaving them where they were, but the ones prior were 24″ wide and undercounter and these are FULL GROWN. I probably love the washer/dryer more than is humanly natural.

Coach said he had a plan of wrapping them in quartz and I was all, do what now? I couldn’t picture what he was selling, but it worked out beautifully.

WHO THE HELL LEFT THAT TOP DRAWER AJAR? I’m getting a Sixth Sense vibe.

Oh! See that box on top of the washer up against the wall? That is my ugly ass but necessary water supply box that I had been looking at for 18 years. The Coach had a brilliant idea to cover it’s ugly nakedness; he made a box out of plywood that covered the water supply area and had our tile guy put the backsplash tile on top of it. I can pull the box out if we need to get to the water. I was extremely excited about it.

Oh how I LOVE the backsplash and I’d always wanted backsplash in here. We used this tile in one of the vignettes in our Design Studio; actually we used it with white cabinets and this very same countertop. I’m nothing if not consistent.

I just love how bright and fresh everything looks; it’s very inspiring for me to pay bills, tend to my bookkeeping, perform laundry miracles, occasionally bathe Lillie into that big ass sink and of course write this blog post for you, my dear friends.

Soon I’ll share the updated guest bath and my In-Laws room.

I’m thinking of hosting a Laundry party Wine Tasting in here soon; who wants to join me?

XOXO