all things india

first off, i promise to divulge my exciting news soon...and to rule out one possible guess, alexandra is not becoming a big sister!

so...it seems that everywhere i turned last week, india was front and center. it began when i saw the images of michelle obama's stunning dress that she wore to the white house state dinner.




the dress was designed by indian-american designer naeem khan. you can read more about that fabulous piece of couture here. (**note to style watchers who are in love with michelle obama's taste in clothing - mrs.o is a fantastic source of all info regarding the first lady's wardrobe).

then....over the holiday break, i finally got around to watching best picture winner slumdog millionaire. i **love** this movie, just sensational.



finally, we had a little taste of india right in our own home on thanksgiving day. my younger sister rachel was recently in india for a presentation at a medical global congress. i believe she had a great experience (despite the 27 hour flight, which is just a disaster). she brought alexandra back the most precious silver anklets - i was pleasantly surprised to see how much alexandra loved them, as they jingled whenever she walked (plus, i loved them because i knew where she was at all times since i could hear every step!). rachel also bought alexandra her own sari - it's in the traditional indian colors of red and green, but it looks pretty well-suited for the upcoming holidays. i was again overjoyed to see how much alexandra loved playing in her sari, she just twirled and twirled - i foresee many days of dress-up in our future.

here's alexandra in her thanksgiving garb (note the shirt, mommy gets some love!):




and here she is in her indian attire:







isn't she lovely?!

giving thanks

once again, i have shamelessly fallen behind in my blogging. i attribute this to ...

...the good (my sweet little girl, as well as a REALLY exciting development in my life that i can't wait to share here - all in due time, i promise)...

...the bad (an insane amount of work that seems to have been par for the course over the past few weeks - really, it looks like files just exploded all over my desk)...

...and the down right ugly (a nasty 24-hour stomach virus that struck both ryan and i in the same night, i'll spare you the details. fortunately, it seems that alexandra was spared!).

i'm determined to get back in the swing of things on my blogging, and give southern comfort the attention it rightfully deserves. this blog is part creative outlet, part gabfest, part scrapbooking, part journal - and is crying out for some love and affection!

in the meantime, i hope all of you have an absolutely wonderful thanksgiving, filled with family, friends, laughter, love and some really good comfort food. i, for one, can't wait to spend it with two of my favorite girls:


my sister rachel is making it in from boston and we couldn't be more thrilled to spend the holiday with her!

stay tuned, more to come i promise!

the big 4-0

following up on yesterday's post, something very special is celebrating its fortieth birthday today...



it's hard to believe that sesame street has been in existence this long and is still going strong with no signs of stopping. (check out this article about the importance of this pbs juggernaut). it's nothing short of amazing that a program that enthralled me as a little girl is now providing entertainment to **my** little girl. i don't want alexandra to be hooked on television (i limit our daily sesame street intake), but i see the value in sesame street. becoming reacquainted with the sesame street crew over the past few months and watching elmo and gang through my daughter's eyes has been a joy. her favorite character is - of course - elmo (however, she has also started saying "coo coo" anytime cookie monster comes on the scene). that's why i find it so interesting to see that elmo is voiced by this guy:


how does such a high-pitched little voice come from such a big guy?! you can read more about kevin clash, aka the voice of elmo, here.

i also love that the first lady helped celebrate the big birthday:



happy fortieth sesame street, here's to forty more!

sunny days

sunny days


sweeping the clouds away


on my way to where the air is sweet


can you tell me how to get

how to get to sesame street?


come and play


everything's a-okay


family neighbors friends


that's where we meet


can you tell me how to get

how to get to sesame street?

too much of a good thing

let me begin this post by issuing a warning to the three men that read this blog regularly (which would be my husband, my dad and my father-in-law). yes, guys, i am talking to you. i am about to delve into a subject that is not for the faint of heart. i would not recommend reading further, you might blush. consider yourself forewarned.

(okay, i totally know you're still reading, don't say i didn't warn you...)

i was driving home from work the other day when elmo (who is on constant rotation in my vehicle since my little girl discovered him) was rudely interrupted by the email alert on my crackjack (also known as blackjack - a wannabe blackberry, aka crackberry). upon reaching a red light (i seem to be much more cautious with the little one in the backseat), i scrolled through my messages only to see that it was some spam email from victoria's secret, announcing the arrival of a new product. typically, i would delete this garbage, but the subject line was intriguing. it read, and i quote:

"new! miraculous push-up adds 2 cup sizes...hello bombshell!"

seriously??? **two** whole cup sizes?? who on earth needs this? i'm all about keeping the girls supported, but i don't need them up to my chin, for crying out loud.


(the particular vicky's secret product in question)

maybe it's just me, but i've never understood all the fuss about "the girls". (this is what i am going to refer to them as in this post - i never liked the word "breasts" and don't get me started on the "t" word, we're not cows for crying out loud). they are put there for one purpose and one purpose only, which became painfully clear to me a couple of days after my daughter was born when my "girls" went from a somewhat enlarged size (thanks to the pregnancy) to porn star proportions. (i am happy to report that they didn't remain this way - unfortunately, they deflated that much more after i quit breastfeeding). yet despite that one purpose, they have gained mass appeal and are sought after by many, both men and women. i mean, case in point:


pamela anderson, the original baywatch girl, who can't seem to make up her mind as to whether she wants a regular-sized chest (and by regular, i still mean larger than 90% of the female population) or "you can see those puppies from the moon!" (obviously the latter in this picture)


anna nicole smith - i think this picture is from the guess modeling era, you know, pre-marriage to really old guy, pre-reality show, pre-overdose.

and the original:


miss dolly parton. how hers have not been deemed a wonder of the world yet beats me - you just don't find those in nature. trust me, though, i would never hate on miss parton. you can't be a southern girl and not love every ounce of this woman.

bottom line, victoria secret - thanks, but no thanks. i'll stick with the size i am, where shirts fit me properly and i can see my feet - no 2 cup enhancement. if i need a place to rest my head, it will be on my pillow, not on my cleavage, thankyouverymuch.

all the pretty horses

the month of october was a total whirlwind...first we were in hilton head for the wedding of our friends terry and katie (pics to follow in another post). next was a fundraiser for vivianne, the daughter of some dear friends of mine. vivianne is a very brave little girl who has fought a long, hard battle against leukemia. you can read more about her story here.

i spent the third saturday in october at keeneland, celebrating the engagement of my best friend christa and her sweet fiancee brian. christa and i met when i was a freshman and she was a sophomore at uk - we lived down the hall from one another in the dorm, were in the same rush group, and hit it off instantly. we became fabulous friends and have remained that way for some 13 years. have you ever had one of those friendships where you might not see or get to speak with your friend for awhile, but when you meet up again you fall right into sync as if you never skipped a beat? one of those friends who you share inside jokes and silly stories with that no one else might understand, but causes the two of you to fall into fits of laughter? well, christa is that friend for me. i am so incredibly honored that she asked me to serve as the maid of honor in their wedding in february and cannot wait for their big day.

our group had a wonderful time at keeneland (even though i lost every single race!). we tailgated and then watched several races - it's been said a thousand times on this blog, but if you've never been to keeneland, you don't know what you're missing. it is a must if you ever get to kentucky.

some pics from the day....

and they're off!


watching our horses on the jumbo-tron as they race on the far side of the track (mine was probably last)


the sun shining across the beautiful in-field


the beautiful bethrothed - christa and brian



brian goofing off with christa's belt:


christa, i know you're reading this - i'm so thrilled for you and brian, we can't wait to help you celebrate your big day!

halloween hijinks

happy belated halloween! i hope you all had a wonderful holiday, with more treats than tricks. i also hope that you don't have as much leftover candy as we do - even as i sit here in the office on our second floor, i can hear the mini-snickers bars singing my name from the kitchen downstairs. i'd take the candy to work, but it will be no less tempting there, either.

we had a great time here - alexandra was only 6 months old last year (dressed her up as a cute dalmatian puppy, as you can see here) so needless to say she was a lot more into it this year and that was fun to watch. we only hit up our immediate next door neighbors and the folks across the street, though i imagine next year she will be tearing from house to house.

the festivities started with a halloween party for alexandra's class at daycare. all of the parents were asked to contribute something for the party. unfortunately, by the time i saw the sign-up list, juice and cookies were gone, leaving only party favors. seriously, what do you get for a half dozen 1 1/2 year-olds? a couple of nights before the party, i hit up target, and wouldn't you know that my dear target wouldn't let me down:



the kids went trick or treating around the school on friday morning. alexandra wore her costume - including the headpiece (pictures to follow) - for about 45 minutes. in retrospect, it was probably a mistake to let her wear it that long because i think she exhausted her patience for wearing it on any subsequent occasions (like on halloween night). the kids then had a little "party" complete with juice and orange snacks like cheese curls and cookies. here's alexandra and her friends enjoying their treats:




last night we got alexandra ready to wear her little pig outfit once more. i didn't think it was possible for my child to be any cuter, but obviously i had never seen my child dressed up as a little pig (if only i had been able to get her to say oink!).



unfortunately, there was no way she would tolerate that headpiece - the picture below is one of the few pictures we got and the expression on her face says it all!


i packed away the headpiece and made our way outside, where she thoroughly enjoyed playing in the neighbor's yard and holding the plastic skull that was part of their halloween decorations.





we had a good volume of trick-or-treaters at our house, including this band of action book super heroes.


all in all, we had a perfect evening spent with our little piggy - she played hard and was oh-so-ready to have her piggy costume removed and to snuggle in bed for the night.