Tag: Family

The Traumatic Thing That Happened, Twins Run In Our Family And The Sitter Strikes Again

Back to our recent trip to Georgia a few weeks ago…

Here is a serene video of one area of the creek that runs through our property and it was taken about twenty five minutes before the almost life altering moment that I’d hinted at last week.

We had a full tour of the property via the UTV with D’Anne, Jana, Suz, Coach, Peanut and Biscuit. (BTW, we have special harnesses and straps to keep the girls safe in the UTV, the Frenchies, not my friends.)

Just Call her The Anchor

We ended the tour at the pond which has filled up nicely. A few months ago Coach had a ton of fish (12,000) brought into the pond from Alabama. There is even a feeder on a timer; it didn’t take long for the birds and raccoons to know when noon rolls around!

Coach sitting on the spillover, still in progress

Anyhoo, to the someone almost died part. The dogs were very interested in the Canada geese, and they were walking along the water line trying to get as close as possible with no luck.

Peanut then went to the spillover poking around and just walked off into the water, as if she were Jesus. I didn’t see her fall in, but my attention was grabbed as Coach said something calmly like ‘hold on, I’m gonna get you’ and he reached down for her, he was able to grab her in one swoop, but that girl was sinking fast. She came out, coughed a bit, shook the pond water off of her and looked at us like: What the hell just happened?

Coach: her eyes were huge, her little legs were moving, but she was sinking fast; that dog would make a great anchor.

My heart just about burst out of my chest and in that same moment I didn’t see Biscuit and I started screaming for her, thinking that everyone would soon disappear into the pond; luckily Biscuit was right behind me, wondering why I was losing my mind. My heart still pounds thinking about it all.

TWINNING

One morning, my Uncle Jim came over as he and Coach were going over to the property to check on things. I giggled when Coach came out of the bedroom and the two of them were in their respective matching Double L uniforms for the day!

Two of the best men you could ever encounter.

I Could Sit On That

I’ve shared before how Biscuit loves to sit on top of her sister; it happens daily. But what you might not know, is she doesn’t just prefer to sit on other dogs, she is an equal sitting opportunist and includes Humans as her seating spot. Occasionally, she will climb in our bed and splay herself on my noggin. It’s great. No really, it’s so comfortable for me. 🫣

This past weekend, she climbed the Coach and used the Coach as her perch.

We have the weirdest, non swimming dogs. Actually Biscuit could probably swim because she has actual legs and is fairly lean. Poor Peanut is built like a legless tank.

Has anyone ever had a dog that couldn’t swim? Never in my life did I imagine a dog who couldn’t….I mean, the type of swimming I do is called a Doggie Paddle!

XOXO

Friendship Longevity, Wedding Disremembering, And We Put That Off Long Enough

I’ve written about my friends so much on my blog, ya’ll might be sick of it, but my people are a huge part of my life. Friends are the family you make, right? I mean, I love my family, and my friends are an extension of that love.

I met Angee in 1990. I was working as a cosmetologist at a boutique salon owned by a young woman: The Hair Magician. She was so talented and I learned so much from her! I think I found out about this job because my Dad met the Hair Magican’s sister (salon receptionist) at happy hour. I was been working at a Chop Shop, which is where a lot of ‘just out of beauty school’ people start, but like The Jeffersons, I was ready to move on up.

THE MAGICIAN DEPARTS & ANGEE TO THE RESCUE.

Call me naive, call me silly, but don’t call me late for dinner, (*Suz, slapping her own knee*) I didn’t realize that The Hair Magician had an addiction issue. I thought she had health problems as she started missing days of work. Fast forward four months or so into my position here and The Hair Magician needed to go into a Rehab Facility; she called me one morning: You’re gonna need to hire someone else to help at the salon, you won’t see me for thirty days. In 1990 fashion, an ad was placed in the paper and Angee showed up. She was newly out of school, but I loved her immediately.

Angee was getting married in February; the Coach and I would be married in May. Shortly before Angee’s wedding, one of her bridesmaids flaked out on her and she needed a replacement: Enter Suzanne, Bridesmaid extraordinaire!

I’d honestly forgotten about even being in her wedding until recently.

Angee: Hey, did I make you pay for that dress? I’ll be horrified if I did.

Me: Oh crap. I forgot I was in your wedding! What color was the dress? Black and white? I don’t think I paid for it and I’m pretty sure I gave it back to you. I hope you wear it on special occasions!

The reason for this post is that we just had an incredible vacation with Angee and Rob; I asked her: Are you sure I was in your wedding? I don’t have photo evidence.

Not black and white; black and green! Do you think Angee is getting ready to fly off and we’re holding her back with the veil?

We didn’t see each other’s faces from 1994-2010!

Coach and I moved away from Florida in 1992, so seeing Angee was limited to visits home. Eventually Angee and Rob moved away from our home town, so we didn’t see them at all; but we finally got together one evening in 2010 when Lolo was looking at colleges in their part of Florida, then we saw them again for dinner in 2013 when Linds was looking at schools in that area. If I had more kids, we would certainly have seen them more!

Angee and I would talk on the phone maybe once a year, catching up and laughing the entire time, plus exchanging Christmas cards. There was a running joke for quite a few years about how much dowry I would need to come up with to marry my girls off to her boys, but I never did come up with enough chickens, cows or goats!

2010
2013

For years, we’ve been saying we needed a getaway together and we finally made it happen in 2024!

Here we are: older, grayer, softer, and even more fun if that could be possible!

We spent four lovely days together, which I will share a bit with you, but Lordy, it’s like a day never passed! We had such a blast together; I’m so blessed to have such wonderful friends.

Next week, I’ll share about our trip and how I witnessed the BIGGEST coincidence of life.

Anyone else have an Angee in their life, where you can pick up no matter how many years have passed?

XOXO

I’m Certain You Missed Me And WHAT? Smashing Hamsters?

The Coach and I had a little getaway this past week. (Wednesday-Sunday) Surely, you missed the heck out of me. I will share some of our adventures, but first, I must gather my thoughts. And do laundry. LORDY, the laundry!

For some reason I didn’t sleep well last night; no reason for it as I was so very tried after traveling across the world country, but for the life of me ma’ brain and ma’ body wouldn’t stop tossing. Probably, I was worried about getting back to all the cooking and cleaning again. Does Oprah or Kim K. worry about such things?

Anyhoo, my sweet MIL came to our home before we left, so she could stay with completely spoil our dogs, fend off any would-be robbers, release butterflies and of course, Manage The Monarch Hospice Situation. (One butterfly is still alive and kicking!) She even had dinner ready when we got home. Am I the luckiest girl or what? I’d bet a million dollars Kris Jenner isn’t doing any of that.

My Rock Star MIL rocking Biscuit to sleep.

The Poor Hamster!

Ok, this is probably way too much for most of you, but I am who I am.

Coach was up early this morning and before he headed to the gym, he let the Frenchies out to do their business, then they both romped onto our bed, and quickly went back to sleep. I laid there for about fifteen minutes, then decided to just get the hell up if I can’t sleep. After my cup of Joe, I started to make the bed when I saw there were spots of blood all over our white sheets and white coverlet. DAMN! For a second there, I thought I started my period, then remembered I don’t have those parts any longer.

One of the dogs must’ve cut her paw while out in the wilds of the world, so let’s add the sheets and coverlet to the piles of laundry! Hells, bells, what else do I have to do with my time?

Anyhoo, this blood in the bed sitch gave me a flashback.

Many years ago we were on the East Coast visiting our dear friends Kelly and Don over the weekend. On Sunday morning, I rolled out of bed, headed to their kitchen for coffee and Kelly was going from her bedroom to the laundry room carrying her sheets; she had a disheveled, tired look about her. Don came walking up behind her and muttered, “Suzanne, It looked like Kelly smashed and murdered a hamster in our bed last night”

I DIED! We were in hysterics over his phrase about the hamster.

I mean, if you have or had a uterus anytime in your life, you know the feeling!

Of course, I conveyed this story to my girls way back when, and it’s a phrase that we would toss around. THAT POOR HAMSTER!

I’m so happy to have that part of my life behind me! With all the hamsters that I’ve murdered, I should be in PETA Jail.

This meme resonates so much, but I hope to never forget the Hamster comment.

Who can compete with my Gem of a Mother In Law? Any takers? I’ll fight ya, I swear!

I will be making my rounds to all of you this week; please tell me nothing exciting happened while I was away.

XOXO

The *Makes Me Happy* List: Three Congratulations, My Friends Are The Best, Books For My Ears

I’ve been having ‘Thank You Lord For Everything’ moments lately. So many terrible things happening to friends and the world in general; it’s good to reflect and pay tribute to the good stuff.

  • Before the holidays, Lolo was offered a new position; this is what she’s been striving for: DETECTIVE. And even better than your standard Detective-ing 🫣 She’s investigating her peers as an Internal Affairs Detective. Ya’ll, this is RIGHT up her ‘follows and enforces all laws’ alley. She started her position in January, but received her business cards last week, which makes her fully Legit.
  • Coach (and his team) were awarded *Fabricator Of The Year for North America last week. He had to make kind of last minute, quick 36 hour jaunt to Mexico to receive the award. We’ve been joking about it all week. He asked: have you ever laid down with A Fabricator Of The Year? Um, not this week! I’m thinking I need to have some Merch ordered with FOTYONA on it, with an arrow pointing to his face. *Fabricator as is Stone; countertops, walls, surfaces, etc…
  • My friends. I know I speak about them all the time, but I hold them in the highest regard because they are My People, and My People are always just as happy and proud of my children, my family as I am.
  • Coach and I met Don and Kelly (on a school night!) to see Tim McGraw and we had so much fun. Tim did not disappoint and he had a lovely tribute to Toby Keith. Tim is my age, and it’s only showing because he actually started his show at 8pm (the scheduled time; this never happens) and was finished by 9:40pm. WHAT?
  • Coach’s Mom and Stepdad had their 50th wedding anniversary this past week. I KNOW! It feels like we just celebrated their 25th; let me double-check my calendar. Oh, yes, that was twenty five years ago! Look at me with The Math!They are so amazing and I love them dearly. Coach and I had a quick visit with them on their big day and it was nice to put my arms around them both.
  • I’ve been reading more books lately, but mostly I’m on an Audio Book spree. Why did it take me so long to find Ann Patchett? (Thanks Nicole!) I finished Tom Lake, (LOVED) The Dutch House (LOVED) & Bel Canto. (Liked Immensely) This led me to her book of Essays: These Precious Days. I’ve never read a book of essays before, but it might be my new favorite thing. I’d enjoyed The Dutch House so much and part of that might have been the narration by Tom Hanks. (who doesn’t love Tom?) Anyhoo, listening to her book of essay’s where she describes how the Tom Hanks thing came about and the story of her friendship with Tom’s assistant is nothing short of amazing. It’s what my friend Michelle describes as the Spider Web Affect; how you meet one person and it can evolve into so many other relationships. Anyhoo, I recommend ALL the books.

My week in a nutshell:

Lolo The Detective, I sleep with The Fabricator Of The Year, my Friends give me life, Tim McGraw is ageless and prompt, My In-laws are inspiring & My ears are full of books!

Care to share one thing that made last week special for you?