Frog Follies

This weekend we traveled to Evansville for their annual Frog Follies car show. And for the special occasion, we took "Lil' Bird". "Lil' Bird" hasn't made an appearance yet on the blog, but for all those who don't know, that is my 1957 T-Bird...and yes, it's pink (which is an original color by the way)!


I rarely talk about the car because I rarely get to drive it. Having a two-seater convertible isn't very practical in my "Mommy world". So, because last summer I couldn't fit behind the steering wheel and this summer I only drove it once, it's now for sale. Plus, Bronson wants a new Corvette, so one of the cars has to go!


We didn't have any offers this weekend, but we had A LOT of lookers. I have to say it's pretty hard to go anywhere an not have 20 people gawking. It's a fun car and maybe we're stupid for getting rid of it, but until Jack's out of a car seat (and that will be awhile), I don't foresee me getting much drive time.











Bronson actually went over on Thursday and had some guy time with James and Ryan Hall, which gave the girls a chance to do some shopping.


Jack also met some girlfriends at the mall. There were some girls (about jr. high age) in the Yankee Candle store that just went crazy for Jack. They started telling him how cute he was and how pretty his eyes were. So what does my son do?


He starts blowing them kisses!!! He has girls in every town!!! :)


I unfortunately didn't get any pictures of that, but here are some other pictures from the weekend. Do you think Jack likes sunglasses??

Just Because

Melissa stopped by today and came toting this WONDERFUL bag:





And the best part....the bag was for me!!!


Now you may be wondering what makes this bag so special. Well, I LOVE Stephen Colbert (who is pictured on the bag) and Melissa knows this very well. So she was at Barnes and Noble, saw this bag, and said "Katie has to have this!"

What kind of friend do I have? A friend that knows me too well and would think enough to pick up this bag for me just because she knows I would go crazy for it. Thank you for being such a great friend, Melissa.


By the way, I'm sure Stephen would thank you too because this just means that one more person is caring around a bag with his picture on it! :)

Happy Birthday Grammy!

We celebrated my Mom’s birthday on Saturday night, a little early because we will actually be in Evansville next weekend on her birthday. So at her request, we headed down to Paducah and had dinner at Whaler’s Catch. It was a beautiful evening and the street performers were out in full force. After dinner we walked down to the river and made a stop at the ice cream shoppe before heading home.



Before dinner, my Mom opened her gift from us. She got her very own camera (I say her “very own” because I instructed my Dad NOT to use it. He is notorious for breaking and losing cameras. And trust me; it’s not harsh because he also got his “very own” camera from us several Christmases ago. So he’s not without!)

And to be totally honest (because I’m sure my Dad in wondering right about now when I’m going to tell the other side of the story) my record with my Mom’s camera isn’t without incident either. I’ve had my fair share of mishaps including leaving my Mom’s camera in Florence, Italy and then dropping another one (and breaking it) in Las Vegas. So getting my Mom her “very own” camera seemed pretty appropriate considering our family’s history. Sorry about that, Mom! :)














After dinner, we took a walk and Jack now likes to walk without any help. It’s so adorable! So he was just walking down the street in Paducah like he knew where he was going and of course everyone stopped to look at him. He looked like a little man in his Polo shirt and plaid shorts. So Cute!

Inglorious Basterds

I have been anticipating this movie for quite a while, so Bronson and I went to the opening night on Friday. I thought I would give a quick review:


First of all, it is a typical Tarantino movie that is divided into chapters. Although my major critique is that each chapter is a little long. The scenes could have been much more concise and it would have made for a much better movie.

Now with that said, I did like the movie. Brad Pitt was amazing. The scenes with Brad and the basterds were hilarious (although those scenes only accounted for about half the movie). It was a good story and I'm glad I went to see it even though I was a little disappointed. Overall, the movie doesn't live up to the hype, but in my opinion, it's still worth seeing.

"Nap"oholics Anonymous

Hi. My name is Jack and I've been a napoholic for about a year now.


I knew I had a problem when I started taking one or two good naps a day. My naps have really started cutting into my playtime and I think it's finally time for me to get help.


But I first have to conquer step one: I must admit I have a problem and that I'm powerless over naps. As you can see, I'm still struggling with that one.....

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things....

Drinking ANYTHING from a straw. (Jack really likes slushies and coke, but juice and milk will do!)







Eating cookies (He can even say "Coo-kee". It's really cute. I think it might even count as his first word, other than ma-ma and da-da of course.)





Talking on the phone (or remote control or whatever else happens to be handy at the time. He's even been known to talk into bowls! But it's really cute when he starts walking and talking on the "phone". I guess he sees Daddy do that a lot.)




Helping finish off any snacks. (When Jack sees anyone with food, he immediately starts smacking his lips and won't stop until he gets a little taste too!)




G'ma Shirley and Auntie Pam stopped by Makanda for a little visit last Friday and here are a few pics.

VelaShape: Two Thumbs Up

I guess it’s time to fess up and tell you all what I’ve been up to lately. But I first want to start with a little background.


During my pregnancy, I didn't really gain a whole lot of weight and what I had gained came off pretty easily. I was however in maternity clothes for the entire summer, and considering Jack was born in June, that was pretty depressing for me. But by the fall, most of the baby weight was gone and I was back in my normal clothes. I remained pretty happy with my weight….. until lately.


The problem was the weight that I had gained before I ever got pregnant. I by no means ever considered my self fat; however I was carrying some extra weight around and finally got motivated to do something about it.


One of the physicians I call on actually does various cosmetic procedures with VelaShape being one of them. You can go to their website to read more, but here is a brief synopsis:

It is a non-surgical option to liposuction. There are no needles or incisions involved, but the down side is that it is not permanent like lipo. So you have to actually work to keep it off. I say it’s a down side, but it may be a blessing in disguise. My doctor gave me a great deal on the procedure, so I thought “what the heck”.


I will say so far it has been a life changing thing for me. Not to sound overly dramatic, but Dr. Gupta has motivated me to eat healthier (although I do fall off the wagon sometimes), get daily exercise (I do brisk walking for 30-40 minutes a day), and think about my caloric intake in a whole new way.


Now I’m not a freak about this whole thing and I don’t use the “diet” word because that would imply the change is only temporary. I haven’t totally cut out all the “good stuff”, I just take everything in moderation; MODERATION being the key word. I just try to make healthier choices and so far it has paid off. In the last month I have lost 8 pounds and 4 cm off each thigh.


But as I said, I don’t want to go overboard with it. My goal is to be healthy and look healthy. I don’t go for the anorexic, gaunt look. I think it’s very unflattering and that is why I aim to lose only 5 or 10 more pounds. But my long term goal is to continue to eat healthy and continue my walking regimen.


Also, there is a very interesting article in this week’s Time Magazine. You could read the entire 4 page article, but I can save you the time. In a nutshell, exercise may not lead to weight loss. In fact, it could do just the opposite. Many people who vigorously exercise can actually increase their appetite, leading them to eat more. Also, many people use the fact that they exercise as an excuse to eat unhealthy. So the moral of the story: One must eat healthy and get some exercise. Like I said, going overboard with anything can be very unhealthy!





So I hope to reach my goal so I can post some great news before our trip to Mexico in October. That will give me several months to lose the weight in a healthy way!

Riviera Maya or Bust

It's that time again!





Yes. It's time for the Parrishes to have another little getaway! We really try to take a couple good vacations a year and so far so good for 2009!


This time we have decided to do something we have never done before. We booked an all-inclusive resort in Riviera Maya, Mexico for October. We are going with our great friends, Brittany and James, and it's sure to be a blast!


There are some really great deals out there and in particular, we booked through www.cheapcaribbean.com. It's a GREAT website with GREAT prices. So if anyone is looking for a good deal, I highly recommend checking it out.


I'm already dreaming about those Pina Colada's on the beach....







And these are random pictures of Jack because Auntie Pam gets upset when there is a post with no Jack pics. So here you go Pam....enjoy! :)

A Vanishing Act

What's vanishing you may ask.


The answer: My son's clothes.


Auntie Pam likes her babies in nothing but a diaper, so she can see all that cute baby fat!


After 5 minutes at Pam and Mike's, Jack already looked like this.






And about 10 minutes after that, he looked like this. (Although, I may have been responsible for the shirt coming off because I like to see all that cute baby fat too! )





Late Sunday afternoon, the three of us traveled to Evansville for an extended weekend. Pam and Mike made a great dinner that evening and we were able to visit with G'ma Shirley, Jennie, and her boyfriend, Jeff too.


Monday morning Brons and I got up and headed for a day at Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana. Our reasoning was to go on a Monday in order to avoid the crowds, however the park was PACKED!! We rode the roller coasters and then spent several hours at the water park.


It was also really neat to see the Thanksgiving portion of the park, because Bronson's architectural firm in Nashville worked on some of the buildings. He had never actually seen the finished product, so that was neat too.





And yes....I rode this roller coaster! By far the largest and longest ride I have ever been on. I didn't think it was ever going to end.




Afterward we headed back to E'ville for a little shopping and another delicious dinner at Pam and Mike's. We had a great time, as always, and we'll be headed back in several weeks for the Frog Follies. We can't wait!!!

Tour de Fete: Ste. Genevieve, MO

Today, Tracie, Bhrett, and I went to the Tour de Fete Festival is Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. Ste. Gen (as it is affectionately called by the locals) is a little jewel located on the Mississippi River about an hour south of St. Louis. I have been meaning to blog about Ste. Gen long before now since I have been making a trip there about every two to three weeks for work. I actually picked up some doctors from Ste. Gen in February and have been in love ever since.


Just for a short historical background (would you expect anything less from a former history teacher?); Ste. Gen is an historic French Colonial Village that thrived in the mid-18th century. That's right, about 250 years ago. Many of the building that were built circa 1750 are still standing and even being used. It is a quaint little town with great shops, restaurants, and inns. It makes for a great local weekend getaway!


So here are some pictures from our fantastic trip. It was REALLY hot, but so worth
it.


The historic part of the town was lined with vendors that had everything from homemade candles to Tye-dyed underwear (really, I'm not kidding).





One of the first stops we made was at Anita's Bath & Body. Anita noticed me taking pictures of her great displays for my blog and offered me a free sample
of her favorite Bath Bomb in Almond Sandelo scent. I can't wait to take a soak in the tub and try out my goodies!





There was also a lot of unique, antique style jewelery. Pairabelles had some of the pretties though.







Jack was such a good boy today. We were all sweating like pigs and he enjoyed himself the entire time. He didn't complain once!





That's my boy, with a smile on his face....ALWAYS!





We then ate lunch at Stella & Me. My FAVORITE Ste. Gen stop! I always have a "Hanna Banana" (grilled chicken, cheese, and garlic mayo spread on toasted bread). It's AMAZING and they were kind enough to make a special exception for me today. They had a special menu today that was sans Hanna Banana. But they conjured one up just for me! Those girls are great!!







I think Tracie and Bhrett enjoyed the lunch too!





Here are some other neat stops in Ste. Gen.











And our last stop was the local candy shoppe for some fresh carmels. What a sweet way to end our trip!