Twins Game July 1, 2013

My dad and I went to our first Twin's game of the season on July 1 with Aunt Julie and Uncle Steve.  We had SO much fun (granted our Twins got spanked by the Yankee's)!! 

Aunt Julie is a quick, hyper gal with a loving heart and Uncle Steve is... well, he's Uncle Steve.  They are an awesome pair and it's a blast to hang out with them.  I didn't know if I would be able to go to the game because I was supposed to have a double header at volleyball that night but I found a sub and met up with dad at 5:30 to go to the game!  We rode together and met up with Steve and Julie and the night was filled with jokes, innuendo's, and laughs.  

We ate polish hot dogs (with lots of kraut), kettle corn and peanuts.  WHAT A FUN NIGHT!!  I have some pictures below.  If you haven't gone to a baseball game, GO!!  It's a lot of fun and you get your money's worth (for the game anyway, food is Pricey!).

 

Have an awesome Tuesday!!

Rebecca Grupp

Fourth of July Vacation 2013

(I forgot a friendly reminder: I won't be posting on weekends...)

OH MY GOODNESS.  I want you all to think about your favorite annual or tradition-vacation...

Ours is always over the Fourth of July.  And we love it.  I can speak for the group confidently (about this love), because of how many smiles, fish, funny stories from holidays past, and hugs are shared.  We all get to revisit what's been happening since we saw each other last.  

We always spend 4 nights in Milwaukee area with my aunt and uncle.  "We" is a large group between 10 and 25 people...  This year it was my Aunt (dad's sister), Uncle (dad's brother-in-law), and their daughter (10 y/o), my Aunt (mom's sister), Uncle (mom's brother-in-law), and two cousins (22 and 25 y/o), Dad, Mom, Sister, Brother-in-law, Niece (8.5 month old), [ex]bf (see here), his daughter and her friend (both 11 y/o).  It was a FULL house.  

We got there Wednesday night and pretty much just hung out and went to bed... The first fishing group went out at 4:45am on July 4 and caught 17 fish (when I say they went out, I mean they went two miles out on Lake Michigan and fished in water that's like 200 feet deep).  The second group that day went out at 2pm (while I watched Kylie, Melissa and Tyler went.  EEK!!!).  We got to spend some time at the pool, eat a lot, and watch fireworks.  

The next day (Friday), we went fishing at 5:30am and caught 8 fish (of which mine was a Monster).  After we got back, we went to The Boathouse and got the fish we caught, cooked!  We had blackened, broiled, and fried fish and oh my word, it was amazing...

And in the second group (the three youngest girls, Somebody (see yesterdays post) and myself), we caught 2.  Evidently our capabilities need refining. :)  When we got back to land, we packed up and went home to play yard games and have some drinks.  

my 38" fish from July 5, 2013... it took over an hour to reel it in!

Saturday was a little lower key - only one group went out to fish and while they were out, the rest of us went to the market on the pier, the candy stores, a toy store, then to the beach.  When we got back to the house, we played yard games (one of which my brother-in-law thought up) and had an awesome supper.  

We left for our respective homes at 8:00am on Sunday - it took 7 hours and 3 stops (food, fuel, etc).  

All in all it was an AWESOME trip much like every other year.  We caught some awesome fish, and made many more memories.  Thank goodness for close family.  Love them all.

And now, enjoy the photos :)

patriotic baby and I :)

Kylie got a little rowdy with a bottle of wine in the Italian Grocery Store

Dad and I fishing on July 5, 2013

Xoxo

Rebecca

Notice: All photos and verbiage displayed on this blog belong to me unless otherwise noted and are NOT to be used for any other purpose than for this blog posting.  If these pictures or verbiage are used by any other person or entity, legal action will be taken immediately.

BIRTHDAY!!

Melissa (my sister) turned 24 on June 1st this year.  And so did I.

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!  

No worries, I said it to her ON her birthday as well...

We went to Chino Latino for supper and cocktails, then went to a couple of the hang-outs in uptown.  I am going to let the pictures tell you HOW MUCH FUN!!!!! we had.  :)

Have a Fantastic Friday!!

Melissa and I - I don't mind sharing a birthday with her at all :)

My sister, brother and I.  It's a good thing we get along better now than we did when Carl shut the door on Melissa's head when we were kids.  That would have been an awkward public display.

Bestie - Katie.  Lurve you.

Carl bought us a drink - evidently it wasn't Katie's favorite (or Melissa's) and I thought that was funny.

Here is the "before" to the picture above... It was a very dramatic beverage. :) 

THANKS CARL!!

Needless to say, we had a BLAST.  We have to make this birthday ordeal an annual event. :P

LOVE my siblings.  :)

Becca

First Date with Another New Guy

Another couple of first dates, another couple of heart breaks.  Actually just one of each. 

I met this guy online (which I promise you I will never ever do again)...  We will call him Somebody.  He asked me on a date a couple of months ago, January or something, after about 3 months of talking and I said no.

Now the reason I said no was because of a couple of reasons, but the primary reason is that at 24 years old, I didn't think I was prepared to take on kids (3) let alone kids that the eldest was nearer to my age than HE was.  The secondary reason was that I was worried about the stages we were at in our lives.  He is 10 years older than me.

He asked again a couple of months later and I still said no.  Finally, after his third time asking, we went on our first date on May 31.  His picture was really cute but he was a LOT better looking in person, I mean Wow.  I walked in and he was sitting down and smiled at me.  He was a chatty fella, and since we had been talking for so long before we finally met, it was like we had known eachother for 6 months.  Which we sort of did.

Anyway, we ate lunch (which was pretty delicious) and parted ways with a hug.  I got a call that night from him saying how much fun he had and that he would like to see me again.  

*Now, being a girl that's perpetually single, know that there is tremendous novelty in someone being interested!

I said sure but I was going to be gone for over a week.  The following night was my birthday (see post tomorrow) and I wanted to tell people about my date but there is something you need to know about twins... When you have a birthday, SO DO THEY!  It's not a bad thing, but you think twice about the level of attention you draw to yourself because attention is limited.  I wanted to keep it about the both of us :)

Anyway, we went on a second date and he came to a volleyball game of mine.  We started spending 4-5 days a week together if I was at home.  Eventually I started to notice some personality traits about him that I started to ponder.  Things that made me a little edgy about "us".  

I had invited him to come to our family fourth of July trip with us (in a later post) already so I had a solid 4-nights and 5-days to determine if this is what I wanted... He ended up bringing his daughter who invited her friend.  We were like a small little family going on a vacation (insert becca-freakout moment).  

The vacation was a BLAST but I learned a couple more things about us that I didn't like at all.  This was solidified on our drive home and I realized that of the 7 weeks we had been together, I spent 2.5 weeks wondering if this is what "joy" is.  

Well it wasn't. 

And at 24, I'm not ready to settle for what might be happiness.  I want what IS happiness.  

Tuesday night we had a conversation and ended it.  There are hurt feelings (and were harsh words and feelings exposed), but I'm at peace with the decision.

The reason I am writing this to you is that I think it's important to understand what I believe leads to a great relationship (and why I am still single).  What I have learned from this experience is that it takes very special care to introduce someone to kids - maybe I was introduced to his too early on (hence the freak out?)?  I'm not sure.  

Also, there are no circumstances where it is o.k. to settle for what you THINK is happiness and joy.  "Sometimes" isn't good enough...  Both parties in the couple need to be equals, one can't be made to feel like a lesser being, or small.  Contribution is important... 

Have you ever gone on dates with OR dated someone that made you think twice about what it REALLY is that you're looking for?

I can tell you that my family is the reason that I am contentedly writing this post knowing that even though he is a Very nice guy (and appealing to the eye), I made the right decision.  They support me through the analysis of my situation, and will sit there and listen to me whine and feel sorry for myself (while dad sings "another one bites the dust").

I love him anyway. :)

Just another day...

Love to all :)

Rebecca

New Gardening Capabilities

I mentioned in the last post, that I put in a new garden... I am THRILLED with the results but definitely used this year as a "learning opportunity". 

I live on .25 acres and don't have a TON of space to give up... In my back yard I have a little swampy marsh that serves no purpose and the area near my sliding door often collects water (that grows moss).  It sounds less pretty than it really is.  I love my house.  And my yard.  I did a lot of work on the front yard when I moved in (see below) and wanted to grow a fresh veggie garden like my older sister, Melissa. 

The top left picture is the online listing of the house before I moved in.  The top right picture is after I did the front landscaping.  The bottom picture is when I got the tree (see top left) replaced and tried to dig my own whole for it... I got a little over-eager/impatient waiting for a spade digger.  My self-dug hole took half hour.  Theirs took 30 seconds...  Oopsie!

Anyway, for the garden, I bought 3 yards of dirt for my 10' x 10' x 12" garden and planted basil, carrots, corn, cucumbers, green peppers, red onions, snap peas, tomatoes, and zucchini.

I will show you progress pictures as well to let you know how this became my learning year. 

before...

FIRST: I planted WAY too much

Starting with tomatoes.  But I DID want different varieties so I could have different flavors, but four is too many. 

SECOND: I planted WAY too close together

I learned that if I follow number 3 on this list with Carrots, I would not have a clump of carrots growing right now.  I will show you what I mean when I pluck them from the garden in a while.

THIRD: I need to start reading directions a bit better... 

When the lettuce bag says "one inch apart, one seed", they don't mean "dig a mote and pour in all contents".  Oops.

Immediately post-planting...

FOURTH: Give the veggies some distance... I know that I have a 10' x 10' garden but I should NOT have put 4 tomato plants next to snap peas next to zucchini next to corn and cucumbers.  Oops again.

FIFTH and final: Timing is critical.  I should have planted a bit sooner so I would be able to start reaping the benefits of delicious veggies right NOW.  However, life got in the way a bit and I procrastinated.  Either way, I'm patiently waiting for my first tomato.  I also bought a Green Pepper plant from Sam's Club, amazing.  It looks awesome and I can't wait for these babies to grow Bigger!

Taken 7/9/13

Like I said, this was a learning year.  I learned a LOT.

Much love. 

Rebecca

Where does the time go??

Welcome back!!  Impressive timing, right?

I figured I should spend a couple of minutes telling you a little bit about the past two months (and one day) since we last talked.  SO Much has happened.  I am going to make a list and the ones italicized, I have written and scheduled to be shared with you so I don't have to do this silly thing called "remembering" to post. PLEASE please comment (so I know you're reading still, despite my numerous months of absence) and let me know what you're up to!

May: 

Work work work

New Garden!!

South Dakota

First Date with the new guy

June:

BIRTHDAY!

5200 miles of driving

Meeting up with Margaret

Cooking

July (so far):

Twins Game

Fourth of July vacation!

Last date with the new guy

I know it doesn't seem like a lot but a lot has happened and I can assure you, it is material that deserved to be written about a long time ago. 

I need some advice for how you keep up with your blogs, also, how you keep it as a hobby versus another task or "obligation".  Is it because I don't have the readers that get engaged in commenting yet?  That I haven't proven useful for reading yet?  Any advice you have is welcome, I'm trying hard to keep motivated at it.  

I look forward to hearing from you, loyal readers!

In the mean time, enjoy some sneak peaks at some neat pictures from the past couple of months!

One of my favorite pictures from our birthday outing - these are my most favorite people...

One of my brothers 7 puppies

Twins game with Dad!!

The garden PRE-growth.  Stay tuned...

She is my favorite...

Thanks again for stopping by!!

Xoxo

Becca

Notice: All photos and verbiage displayed on this blog belong to me unless otherwise noted and are NOT to be used for any other purpose than for this blog posting.  If these pictures or verbiage are used by any other person or entity, legal action will be taken immediately.

Relationship Advice... Yes, from me.

Disclaimer: this post has a lot of opinions... if you don't like other people's opinions, I urge you to check back tomorrow when I exhibit less of them.

Don't think that this post is JUST about BOY-GIRL relationships, but it's also about friendships.  I felt the need to write this because of a couple of reasons...

1. It's what I'm thinking at this exact second
2. I think it's important
3. I want to be taken seriously on occasional circumstances

So there are "expectations" all the time of PERFECT relationships...  

• "A good friend will hang out with you sometimes, a GREAT friend will hang out with you ALL the time!"

Not true.

• "A good boyfriend/husband will buy you flowers on valentines day, a GREAT boyfriend/husband buys you flowers ALL the time."
• This one is a stretch, my experience on the matter is limited.  

Basically what I'm trying to say is that some people have expectations of me to be the "right friend".  I can't commit to that.  I also don't want to come off as "I'll treat you the way I want because I CAN!"... That's not my goal.  But I don't want the situation to become what I've become all too familiar with (especially as I have gotten older):

• Friend A (we'll call her Rebecca) works a lot of hours and has very little free time for a couple of weeks at a time.  She also has a new family member (niece) and wants to see her whenever she comes home because it's a rare and exciting occasion.  Friend B (we'll call her Friend B) has a standard 40-hour per week job and loves to hang out with friends.  She has no kids, no boyfriend or husband, etc.  You get the picture... She decides that Rebecca is incapable of being a friend (good OR great) because she hasn't seen Friend B for a couple of weeks and turns to other friends to hang out and breaks ties with Rebecca.
• Close scene.
• I'm not a screen writer, do not fret

You get the idea. And it gets old...

I also feel like I need to see all of my friends somewhat regularly or I'm going to lose them. It's like - Ohmyword. I haven't seen this person in 2.4 weeks. We're growing apart. I need to talk to her. I don't even know what she's been doing this month. We have to get lunch now. WE HAVE TO GET LUNCH BEFORE THIS FALLS APART. I need to call her. She's not answering. I'll text her. She'll NEVER want to get lunch again because I've let too much time pass. I'M A HORRIBLE FRIEND.

I have a couple of really great friends but we only get to hang out MAYBE once per month... These friends are also my best friends because of our mutual ability to get along regardless of the situation.  Notice, I didn't say we agree on everything, have the same style, etc.  We are friends that just "get it" and it's refreshing.  If you don't have that, and need it, or want it, get it!  Talk to someone new, meet people, and put yourself out there.  Be you, completely.  If you're not you-you, people won't become that kind of friend.  You need you be you-you to be the best-you.  Make sense?  I thought so.

Have a great day, and remember... Whoever doesn't love you despite time, personality nuances, or style, doesn't love you enough to be a friend for eternity.  And quite honestly. that probably isn't their intention or desire.
I am me, quirks included and I love it. :)

Love to all!

Becca

Vacation Nostalgic Moment: Argentina, Part 2

So we're picking up from yesterday's post...

The trip was so so much fun that it deserves TWO posts.  FURTHERMORE, I will probably write about it again whether it's because I want to reminisce again, or because I forgot I wrote about it two days in a row, I do not care :)

So I photo vomited yesterday so I will take it easy today :)

I finished up my trip by hanging out with Sylvia, Martine, and Phillipe waiting for the drive to pick me up for the airport... Photos of Sylvia and Phillipe are attached... you need to know how good looking they are. :)

 

Earlier in the day, while Martine and I were out for milenesa (so delicious and thinking about it now makes me miss Buenos Aires), I found out that my flight was delayed by 6 hours due to volcanic ash.  Great... Just volcanic ash.  A volcano (the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle Volcano) erupted in Chile (see here) and the ash was so heavy when I landed that it looked like snow!  Grey snow, but snow nonetheless.

We found out at about 7pm that we were delayed about another 3 hours.  This put my flight at 6am and the agent that we talked to on the way back to the house from the restaurant, rebooked me. 

Anyhow, the driver got to Martine's at 3am to pick me up (we had to be at the airport by 4am for the 6am flight), after all of the stories told over bottles and bottles of wine.  I certainly learned that I don't date enough (despite what it seems from past posts).  I got to the airport and waited in line for an hour (of course, we were delayed another hour putting the flight at 7am).  I learned, upon my arrive to the counter, that the woman who allegedly rebooked me, booked me for a flight THE FOLLOWING DAY!!!!  Mind you, I was flying into Chicago so I could ride home with my family.  My family was in visiting my aunt and uncle south of Milwaukee.  They were already bummed that I was getting home 10 hours later than planned...  After much coaxing (and possibly a tear or two, courtesy of no-sleep and a bottle of wine), and a bit of shouting about the importance of my getting home, I got on the plane.  The last possible seat on the airplane (the row in front of the restroom in the very back of the plane behind a row of babies and possibly a hundred naughty children). 

For those of you pilots out there, don't tell the passengers that "If we don't take off now, the volcanic ash will hit the engines and shut them down during take-off!" in a bunch of different languages.  Panic is a universal language... We get it.
Once we finally landed in Atlanta (9 hours after take-off, and at 3pm), I went to the Chili's in the airport to get a beer during my 4 hour layover (which was also re-booked wrong) to Chicago.  I was approached by a nice, good looking guy that looked super familiar...  He asked if he could buy me a beer (and after the night/flight I had, I had earned it!) so I said yep.  We sat and talked for about 2 hours and had some appetizers before we went to our respective gates.

I landed in Chicago around 9pm and called my dad, who had been circling the ORD airport for about an hour in anticipation of my arrival (mind you he KNEW what time I was going to be back...).  My dad was so excited to have me back that he wanted to be the ONLY one to pick me up from the airport.  He saw me outside of the door in the terminal and he honked the horn (aggravating all of the people in Chicago who seemed perpetually angry anyway) and jumped out of the car.  Biggest. Hug. Ever.  He was so excited it was as if I had been gone for months...  He asked if I was hungry (um yes) and took me to the Red Robin for a burger which I hoovered in a matter of 48 seconds. 

The food was amazing, the friends I made are fantastic, and the memories are forever... If you haven't taken a vacation like this, I urge you to make the plunge.  I can honestly tell you that the time leading up to this trip, the trip itself, and the homecoming have made Argentina unbelievable to me.  

Now you get the small photo vomit again and I will close-er up for the day...  Sorry for the two long-as-heck posts but they make me happy :)

 My sister and Dad skyping with me one of the nights I was there... We skyped at least once per day while I was gone and it was marvelous.

 Melissa took a great picture of me focusing on the conversation

 And then laughing at the realization that I was sitting there with my mouth open... My just-married twin sister interrupted me and started telling me about her first couple of weeks of marital bliss and I replied "It's not about you, Melissa." sarcastically (in case you think I'm a jerk) and dad thought it was the funniest thing ever.

Mom and Dad skyped me together a lot, too... They are such a silly couple :)

Have a great Tuesday, friends :)

XOXO
Becca

Vacation Nostalgic Moment: Argentina, Part 1

I'm sure everyone on the world wide web has been on a vacation that they want to replicate or "try to top" at some point...  I've been fortunate enough to have quite a few of these vacations (most recently the one in AZ seen HERE). 

One that I want to tell you about now is the trip I made to Argentina to see my friend Martine.  First a little bit about her...

Martine and I became friends at work in Milwaukee when I started at the company I'm at now.  She took me under her wing and taught me all about my new home.  She and I hung out VERY often while I lived in Kenosha and shared lots of laughs and stories.  She is the epitome of classy and I love her dearly.  We have a lot of great memories.

I was working as a computer program developer (insert nerdy scoffs here) and had to go to Argentina to launch the program and work with my IT counterparts to ensure all was working for their specific needs.  This trip was scheduled less than one week after my sisters wedding (I told everyone I was going to take her honeymoon for her).  Needless to say, traveling to a different continent was going to be a great detox from normalcy and stagnant life, but also it was going to be a bit nerve racking to go on this trip alone.  Martine had been living in Argentina for a few months (of the 11 she was going to be there) and offered for me to stay with her for an extended trip so I planned a week of vacation on top of the two days of travel and two days of work. She was living on Avenida Alvear y Callao and this is what I got to call home...

I had two days to accomplish the business I needed to get done.  I arrived to Argentina on Wednesday night (after a layover in Atlanta in which I had to sprint to the gate on the other side of the airport... I was the person they were summoning over the loudspeaker).  After 16 hours of traveling, I was NOT looking forward to going to work first thing the next morning but worse things have happened, right?

Anyhow the office was in a scary part of Buenos Aires - we drove past two landfills and a community of homes that had lost a wall or two that was now being supported by a car that hadn't been driven in what seemed like years.  People watched you from the side of the road with curiosity in their eyes and judgment in their hearts... I don't believe I've ever felt so isolated.  Martine and I sat in the back seat of the car listening mindlessly as our driver (and bodyguard, for what it's worth) was telling us stories of the community and why it became what it did.  I can remember vividly, what the spray paint and homeless dogs looked like, though.  It was a very depressing sight.  We pulled up to the security gate of the office and were granted access after a few questions and started our day.

 

(this is not a picture of our office...)

Now mind you, I'm blond with blue eyes.  This is a rarity (in a big and serious way) in Argentina.  The majority of residents have dark hair and eyes.  Martine has the dark hair but stands out with her green eyes.  I was welcomed warmly into the office and began work with my new friends.

The first day at the office the power went out twice... which wasn't as bad as when the water shut off three times.  You know those super inconvenient times when you all of a sudden have to go to the ladies room so desperately that you'd auction off your first born for the opportunity?  That bad.  Thank goodness I don't have kids yet or they'd be living in South America.

We went to supper with two of our coworkers from my department.  They brought us to a very fancy restaurant where we had fantastic wine, lots of different foods and dessert.  This is where I realized my love for Malbec.  I didn't become a wine connoisseur, I just got picky.

We tried blood sausage, filet minon, and pork.  We also had panqueque's.  My favorite was panqueque de dulce de leche (between that one and the panqueque de manzana).  It was a fantastically thin pancake (or something of the sort), with a caramel that puts caramel to shame. 

 

That night, we went to something called "after office".  After office is basically a RAVE that begins after you've left work and had supper.  As soon as we walked in, people looked at me like I was foreign or a twin or something... (for those of you that haven't read past posts, I am both in South America, just the latter in North America).  We had people walking up to us and talking so quickly in another language that I understood nothing.  We danced and people got drunk, the works.  It was fun but by 2am I was burnt out and we went home.  I learned later that a lot of people didn't go home until like 5 or 6 am... That is so far past my bedtime that I might as well just stay up until bedtime the following day.  It was fun nonetheless :)

Other adventures include:

• taking a tour of the city by bus with a coworker - I learned such a tremendous about the culture and the entire tour was done in castellano (they do not speak Español.  I know this because I unintentionally offended someone to a very large degree).

• Went to a Circus De Soleil show  

• Went to live music and sushi

• taking tango lessons - I wasn't good but I got a video of a solid attempt.  The instructor was a friend.  The video was taken when we were trying it at the apartment, not when we took it to the club where we "competed".  I got the "miss congeniality" prize.

• finding a fantastic bakery in an alley that sold something called "alfajores" (and if you think this means something dirty, I have linked a page that explains what alfajores are (and no, it won't put spam on your computer or send your colleagues emails about viagra)).

• walking to other fantastic cafe's and learning what a "table charge" is... it's like we rented the table for the low cost of 4 pesos.
• walking through the largest rose garden I have ever seen (the smell was amazing and it was the end of their summer).  There were thousands of roses all of different "breeds"

• taking a trip to Tigre where we got to ride a water taxi and eat at a restaurant on an island.  And on stilts.

• went to Uruguay for a day (specifically Colonia) to tour and see more culture.  It was a fantastically beautiful town... The difference between the Portuguese and Spanish homes was amazing and learning about conflict turned to harmony was enlightening.  The churches were all so beautiful and I would love to have architecture like theirs to enjoy now and again.

I know I look like I'm in pain but I wasn't... it was just super sunny

• going to a street fair - which is oddly similar to the 7 mile fair in south Milwaukee, WI only with all argentines

This trip was so much fun I want to experience it again. I'm addicted to learning about other people and where they come form.  Culture fascinates me.  I hope you found this as enlightening to read about as it was for me to write.  Have a fantastic Monday night!!

Xoxo

Rebecca

What's Your "-ism"?

My sister is by far the coolest ever.  Mostly because she reminds me of... well, me.  I kid.  But I posted a while back (here) about some of the things people say that make me laugh about this whole twin thing and I thought I would add to the list:

• "Oh, I'm sure you get the "do you play basketball?" question all the time, right?  Well... did you?" - this is a particular favorite because that person usually thinks they are laughing at the people that ask the silly questions and yet they ask the same dang question!
• "Congratulations on the baby, you look awesome!" - oh hey, gym... ouch. (note to person: that's the other twin)
• "Are you the nice twin?" - no, I'm the evil twin... watch out, I glued your fanny to the chair.  Good luck with that.
• "What's it like to be a twin?" - what's it like not to be a twin?
• "You're pretty tall..." - thanks.

And of course, mom takes the cake with Jackie-ism's as of late...

• Melissa: (sarcastically) *fist pump* Power to the people!!

 a couple of hours pass

• Mom: *fist pump* Yo to the world!!

Melissa looks at me like she just found out she is actually a triplet and whispers "one!"  We have a tendency to count these mannerisms of moms over the span of one of Melissa's visits.  We love mom.  

We told aunt Julie the story and a little while later, in the car, she tried to mimic this by shouting "Hey world!"

• "You look really good with make-up on." - do I look less-good without it?
• *Melissa sends a picture of herself next to the Washington Memorial to a group of us* and mom replied "What is it?"
• (In talking about my single-ness: "Rebecca just needs to give it up a little bit."
• to which dad replies "Worked for you..."  (that was funny, people... they do love each other unconditionally)

I also took a great series of pictures of Mom yesterday that she didn't realize I had taken... Scroll down quickly and you will smile :)

I sure do love her.....

Do you have any "-isms" that you're super proud of?? I would love to hear them!

Please note that posts will only come on weekdays.  I plan to do about 5 posts per week (which is about 5 more posts per week than you're used to)...

Xoxo 

Becca