Poolside Shenanigans

Yesterday my bestie (Jenn, NOT Jenny. Supermom. Jennifer Karen. JennYo) and a couple of cousins decided to go swimming. Jenn actually married into my family, so I guess she is also a cousin....Maybe? It's all too complicated for me. All that matters is I claimed her first, so bestie is the title she generally carries around. They have six kids between them, so of course they all went, too. Can I just be honest and say that six feels like sixteen? Like, for real.

So on the way to the pool (we went to a really good one 40 minutes away) we busted out the Frozen soundtrack and sang American Idol finale style. Here's a random fun fact of the day for you. Jenn and I have been inseparable since we were ten years old, and the foundation of our relationship is the fact that we both love to sing obnoxiously loud and enjoy duet-ing together. You name any Disney movie, and we can probably pick a song to sing you and know who is going to get which parts in thirty seconds flat. Our poor parents. Jenn and I used to belt it out for hours together. And guess what? We still do!!! Now that she has kids, we are never without a reason to burst into random song and dance.

(But I mean, does anyone really ever need a reason to belt it out to Disney?! I think not.)

Frozen is the perfect movie - almost all the songs are duets. Ha! So we picked our parts right away, and we were off. At first the kids sang along, but at one point, when we added in arm motions to our words, they went completely silent and stared in horror. Yes, children. This is happening. We reeled them back in though and sang the same four songs on the soundtrack the entire way to and from the pool. Fun, fun times.

When we got back, somehow the conversation turned to, "I have stuff to make cookies. I bet Kris could whip some up." So into the kitchen I went with my little baking helper. We made chocolate chip/M&M cookies and they were fabulous!

 

 

When I got home, I discovered a sweet little yellow bag at my door. The card wasn't signed, but it contained lots of my favorite things and brightened up my day!

(oh, and apparently, I don't make my bed all the time)

I vote the next fun-filled day is at a pool on an island. With umbrella drinks.

A Celebration of Life

Today my divorce finalized. There are so many things that I'm feeling and thinking - it has been a roller coaster six months - but I don't want to write about those things. Today, I want to celebrate the life of a sweet, four-legged friend that made my life infinitely better by being a part of it.

In September of last year, I went to pick up Roscoe. I'd spent quite awhile researching different breeds, and once I decided on a Labradoodle, I searched for the perfect breeder for weeks. She was located awhile away, but worth the drive. When I got there, this precious little squishy ball of fur crawled all over me, licking as fast and as much as he could.

He kept me awake through the night for months, but he was ridiculously fun. He was mischievous, and he got into anything and everything that he wasn't supposed to.

We went on walks at the park, and he made friends with everyone that he met. He loved riding in the car.

At night, when the day was ending and it was quiet, he would jump on the couch (something I swore I'd never let him do) and curl up next to me and sleep. He was the best cuddle buddy.

When his dad and I separated earlier this year, he went to live with him. He went to work with him every single day, and their bond was fierce, so it was the right thing to do. But even though he didn't live with me, I saw him very frequently, and every single time his entire body shook with excitement to see me. He would bound up and greet me with kisses all over, just like he did when he was a baby.

We found out he had cancer, and he deteriorated quickly; I didn't even know that puppies could get cancer. And two days ago, we made the difficult decision to put him to sleep. His dad held him, and he wasn't scared or upset. He went happily, surrounded by people that loved him. We buried him under a beautiful shade tree.

Had I been writing a book, I would have changed the details. A death and a divorce in the same week is too much, I would have rationalized. Unfortunately, we don't always get to choose our circumstances, and we're forced to be strong, when we feel that we cannot.

Yesterday, as I was driving home from work, I saw this beautiful rainbow. The picture doesn't do it justice - it was vivid and bright, and oh so big. It's the second one I've seen in a week. And it was a good reminder.

Ready or not, Kris, it's time for a fresh start.

Work Fun in Atlanta

I just returned from my annual summit at work, and after a much needed 10 hours of sleep Thursday night I was back at the office Friday. My team is all over the US, so we don't see each other very often, and it's fun to come together and hang out. We worked during the day, and then went out each night to various places. Our hotel had a bar on the 72nd floor that spins with views of the city, so that was a favorite for sure! My room was on the 56th floor, so my view from there wasn't too shabby either.

With a room view like that, obviously I had my curtains all the way open. The second night we were there, I was walking around the room in minimal clothing (and by minimal, I mean none) because I'm on the 56th floor so who will see me, right? I was ironing by the window and happened to glance out and realize the elevator, the glass elevator that lets you see everything, runs right beside my window. So, it's possible that someone received a show they didn't expect! Eeeek. No one gave me any shocked/disgusted/embarrassed glances the next day in my meeting, so I feel confident I was safe...from my group at least, haha! Someone convinced me to sleep with the shades open to enjoy the city lights, and so I opened them after I turned my lights out Wednesday, and it.was.beautiful. I'm still a country girl at heart, and I could never live in a big city, but it's always exciting to visit!

I got about 12 hours of sleep in 3 days, and the worst was Wednesday. I was up late late late chatting, and then wide awake for way longer than I intended to be after that. I think I maybe got 3 hours of sleep that night, and had to sit through a meeting the first half of Thursday. I was running on fumes driving home that afternoon. Totally worth the lack of sleep though! And I snagged some fun pictures!

My views from the room

Braves game fun!

 

We ate lunch at a place connected to the Ritz-Carlton. This was the lobby.

 

 

This weekend I have big plans! Big plans to do absolutely nothing. Ha! This morning I slept till 9:30, cooked some breakfast while dancing and singing to Girls Chase Boys (y'all. Have you heard that song?! SO catchy!), and plopped myself on the couch to catch up on a little homework. Oh, a day in the life.

Weekend Fun!

I have been busy, busy, busy this weekend!

Friday I met up with a couple of girlfriends to go see Maleficent. Oh.My.Goodness. It may be one of my new favorites! It's so very good! And not at all what I expected. I would very highly recommend it - the cast was awesome! Oh, and I saw my boyfriend Channing Tatum (see below). It's totally okay to be a little jealous. We can't all take a picture with him, but I'll allow you to live vicariously through me.

We finished out the night at Cheesecake Factory, which really needs no explanation, right? I mean, let's be real. If there is a Cheesecake Factory near you, then you go. I think our waiter might have assumed we'd been drinking (we had not been) because we were laughing so hysterically the entire time. Aren't those nights the best? Laughing is good medicine!

Saturday I met up with my sister-in-law, Jenn, and a couple of our good friends for a kayaking trip down the river. We had an absolute blast. We discovered that we could connect our kayaks, so we all connected and floated much of the time that way. We ended up finding a good area to pull off and ate lunch and hopped in the river to swim for a bit, which was very needed; we were HOT. We ended up being on the water about five hours, so we got plenty of sunshine, and came off with a bit of color! I have a feeling we will be doing this as much as possible for the rest of the summer. Super fun.