A little R & R

I need more weekends like this past one... We did a whole lot of NOTHING, and it was fabulous. Friday night we spent trying to console the dog during the bad weather. We even gave him two benadryls, but he was still just as anxious as could be until he finally fell asleep.

Derek watched a movie while I made some significant progress in my book. I'm reading The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. It's a book about a dog told from the dog's point of view at the end of his life. It's really interesting so far... my parents both read it and then Derek read it, so he's ready for me to finish it so we can "discuss." I usually read really, really girly books, so it's a pretty rare occasion when we both read the same book. :)

Anyways... Saturday we slept in and woke up to a beautiful but chilly day outside. We headed to Lowe's to pick out some flowers and spent the afternoon bundled up planting flowers in the backyard. They're so pretty! It actually looks like spring at our house now. We watched two movies Saturday night - one Quentin Tarantino movie, "Death Proof", and then "Knocked Up," which I've seen three or four times now and still think it's as funny as the first time I watched it.

Then Sunday morning I watched two Lifetime movies I had DVR'd earlier in the week - "The Party Never Stops" about binge drinking and "Stand Against Fear: A Moment of Truth Movie" about football players molesting the cheerleading squad. Yes, they were as bad as they sound, and it was a total waste of a good four hours of my weekend, but I enjoyed them nonetheless. :)

We were feeling a bit stir crazy by Sunday afternoon, so we headed over to Katherine's house to sit outside in the sunshine and catch up with her. A few more of our friends came over and we cooked chicken spaghetti for dinner with key lime pie for dessert. It was a great way to end the weekend.

I must say, knowing we have a couple of busy weekends coming up, it was so nice to just stay home and get some rest... it was a well-deserved, relaxing weekend. I hate that it's already over, but at least I feel rested and ready for the week rather than a little hungover and worn out. :)

Rain, rain, go away...

I'm so sick of the rain! It was pretty weather only for the weekend (not that I'm complaining), but it rained all day yesterday and is supposed to start raining again tonight through Saturday. I'm just read for some nice spring weather so we can get out in the yard and make it look like springtime... plant some flowers, clean up some pinestraw, etc. That was my whole plan for this weekend, and now it's looking more and more like a dreary few days. But at least maybe this way the pollen will be gone for good.

Hopefully the rain will come and go without anymore serious storms. We got lucky with the weather last night, although I don't think the dog slept a wink. He gets so nervous during thunderstorms, and it was about this time last year that the tornado came down Pine Lane. Fingers crossed that was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I know Bentley hopes so, too. He's as ready for the sunshine as I am! And I know he's as tired as I am of leaving pollen-covered paw prints on my wood floors. :)

Spring is here!

It's officially spring, and for once, the Mississippi weather actually matched the season this past weekend, so we enjoyed it to the fullest.

Friday night we had some friends over to play Rock Band and Jenga. Long story short... a few years ago Derek and I bought a Jenga game at a garage sale across the street for a quarter and turned it into a world-renown (or something like that) Drunk Jenga game by writing on the blocks. We definitely got our quarters-worth over the years, but I'm sad to say the game has "disappeared." There's no telling where it might be these days, but wherever it is, I'm sure it's having a good time with its new owners. Anyways... on a recent trip to Hattiesburg we convinced my parents to let us have their Jenga game, and Friday night we made the second version of our beloved game. This one's even better, so watch out! :)

Saturday we woke up bright and early and headed downtown for the St. Paddy's Day parade. Fun, fun, fun... and what a beautiful day to watch a parade! My sunburn speaks for itself as the first real sun of the season. Gotta love some sunshine on a nice, spring day! Here are a few pics from the parade...

Me with Jenny and Katie...

Derek and Nathan...

Us with Drew and Kristin...

After the parade we changed clothes and headed to Vicksburg for Jennifer Lynne and Stephen's engagement party... It made for a LONG day, trust me, but we had a great time. We went out to The Biscuit Company after the party and spent the last few hours of the night just catching up with everyone. If you've never been to that bar, it's one of the coolest bars ever. I had a few fun memories (and even one not-so-fun one) of that place when Derek and I first started dating. It flooded shortly after I moved to Vicksburg in 2003 and has been closed every since. It just recently reopened, and now it's just as good as new! The Biscuit Company definitely ranks right on up there with Daquiri World (Ha!) as far as legendary bars go, so I know everyone's glad it's back. :)

Here's a picture of the girls out Saturday night...

We ate lunch with Katherine and her parents Sunday before heading back home. It was a busy, busy weekend, but I'm so glad spring is officially here! Knowing Mississippi weather, it'll only be nice like this for a couple of weeks, so we might as well enjoy it while it lasts. :)

My big baby boy is four years old!

Sir Bentley Warren Christopher Lamar Bice Grey turns four years old today. It seems like only yesterday Derek greeted me at the door with this precious furball in his arms. I fell in love... now 100 pounds later, he still has my heart.

Happy Birthday, Bent! Our world wouldn't be the same without your unconditional love, blonde tumbleweeds of fur and slobber. We love you, dog. :)

Luck 'O the Irish

I have been fortunate enough to experience St. Patrick’s Day celebrations all over the globe. Well, actually I just happened to be on vacation a couple of times during the week of March 17. It seems to be a worldwide celebration wherever you are, although I think everyone just likes the idea of green beer and lucky leprechauns with pots of gold. :)

In 2005, Derek and I were in New York City during St. Patrick’s Day, and we were very excited to see one of the oldest American St. Paddy’s parades. Needless to say, we were quite surprised that the parade consisted of marching groups, bagpipe groups and politicians.

No green beer, no beads, no bands… we were definitely NOT in the south. Don’t get me wrong… tradition is great and everything, but it might be a bit more enjoyable if it wasn’t so quiet and somber. I think everyone would have just stared at us in disbelief if we had yelled, “Throw me something, Mister!”

In 2006, we happened to be on the last night of our honeymoon in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for St. Patrick’s Day. We wandered into town to find a little restaurant and bar called Senor Sweeney’s having a St. Patty’s Day party complete with Guinness AND t-shirts.

Come to find out, they have a “brother bar” in St. Paul, Minnesota, that hosts a big party for St. Paddy’s Day, too. I never thought I’d find an Irish pub in Mexico, but we did! And we bought a t-shirt as a souvenir, too… :)

While I’m sure the St. Patrick’s Day parties in Ireland are obviously the most authentic, there’s one place that celebrates the holiday with enough debauchery to make any Irishman proud… home sweet home Jackson, Mississippi!

The Hal and Mal’s St. Paddy’s Day Parade is a Jackson tradition, dating back to the early ‘80s. It’s gotten bigger and bigger every year with more and more crazy Sweet Potato Queen wannabes. It’s quite the sight to see. I’ve “heard” it’s supposedly the third largest St. Patrick’s parade in the world. Whether that’s the truth or not, it’s definitely a lot of fun!

I saw on the news this morning that 34 million Americans claim Irish ancestry, and I’m one of them. I’m sure my cousin who traces genealogy could tell me for sure, but we have entirely too many redheads on the Bice side to claim otherwise. So, in honor of my ancestors, Happy St. Patrick’s Day and may the Luck ‘O the Irish be with you! :)

Lazy Weekend

I really can't tell you the last time I enjoyed such a quiet weekend at home watching it rain. Sometimes you just need a rainy weekend with no plans to help you catch up on some rest.

Friday night it was so stormy that Derek and I decided we'd get dinner from Pizza Shack (our favorite pizza place) and settle in on the couch with our animals beside us to watch a movie. I'm a little embarrassed to admit it, but I was so excited to go to sleep listening to the rain outside our windows that I barely stayed awake for the movie.

Saturday I ran a couple of errands in the rain and then we spent the rest of the afternoon doing some spring cleaning around the house. I hate, hate, hate cleaning, but I love, love, love a clean house, so I don't really think there's any way to get one without the other unless I hire a maid, which is on every girl's wish list, I think. It was well worth it though because nothing gives you total satisfaction like a sparkling clean house (even if it only lasts for an hour or so...)

After our marathon cleaning day, Derek and I went to dinner at Bon Ami with our friends John and Katherine. It's a quaint little restaurant near our house where you can bring your own wine and can go ahead and expect to stay a while when they're busy. Dinner was good, and afterwards the four of us came back to our house for game night. Wow... that really sounded old, didn't it? At least we were drinking wine while we played Catchphrase and not coffee. :)

We slept late this morning and did some shopping this afternoon just to get out of the house for a little while. It's been a very ugly weekend weather-wise, but sometimes that's all you need to force yourself to slow down and take it easy for a change. There's just no place like home on a weekend like this, and I definitely enjoyed every minute of it!

I feel loved!

My sweet husband sent me flowers yesterday, and then we enjoyed a delicious dinner at The Parker House restaurant. Even though the Wii was supposed to be our anniversary gift to each other, I don’t think any girl will complain about receiving flowers and being wined and dined by the one she loves. :)

Three years ago today...

We said 'I do,' and haven't looked back since! I thought it would be fun to take a little trip down memory lane with some of my favorite pictures from that day...

Where it all began...

Here's the whole group... that's an awesome feeling to have all your best friends in one place all to celebrate your special day...

Here are my DGs doing the toast at the reception... at the time only two were married. Now, just in that picture, 11 more are married. Wow, does the time fly by...

I love this picture because of Derek's face... We were soooo ready to leave for our honeymoon. The limo was late, so everybody had to wait outside for like 20 minutes. Needless to say, I think everyone was happy to see the limo drive up...

Where's my husband??? Kissing some strange woman right behind me... Just kidding, that's my sister-in-law. I think they were feeling the love (and the alcohol) that night... :)

There are several other favorites from the wedding album - like the one of me dancing with my dad, the one of my first dance with Derek, and of course the infamous one of the bouquet toss (I got some hate mail from the girls in that picture last time I posted it, so I learned my lesson. Ha!)

I'll never forget that day.Happy Anniversary, D! I love you more today than even yesterday, and I look forward to the rest of forever...

On the road again...

Derek made it home from San Antonio safe and sound Thursday night, and we hit the road again on Saturday to Hattiesburg for my grandfather’s 85th birthday party. His birthday was March 3, and 85 long years is a great reason to celebrate, so celebrate we did! Here are a few pics from the party…

Happy Birthday, Pap!!

After the birthday party Derek and I headed to the wine bar downtown to meet up with some friends, including my old friend Wendy, who now lives in Birmingham. We go way back to when I was in high school and she was the youth intern at my church. I thought she was pretty cool, so when I went through Rush, she was one of the many wonderful reasons I went DG. :)

Enough with the cheesiness… sorry for the glare, but here’s a picture of us back in college at the Pike Fireman’s Ball in 2000. What babies!

And here we are now, all grown-up and mature. Ha!

It was so much fun to catch up with her, and we really enjoyed our night in Hattiesburg. Now, after four weekends on the road, I’m more than ready to stay home and do some spring cleaning this weekend! That probably won’t produce too many fun, bloggable stories, but my house and my allergies will thank me. :)

For Cassidy...

Because she has a slight Hello Kitty obsession now, not that it's a choice over there. Don't worry, I'll forever cherish the Hello Kitty chopsticks, don't drink and drive sign and Christmas ornament, I promise. :)

I think I have a new addiction...

I headed south this weekend for a fantastic girls’ get-away at the Bellissimo Spa inside The Grand Casino in Biloxi. This was a very well-planned day of pampering for me considering I had all kinds of bumps and bruises from Mardi Gras last weekend.

We got to the spa about 11 Saturday morning and were walked through the “Journey of Tranquility” which included the salt scrub showers, eucalyptus steam room, whirlpools and redwood sauna. We were all able to just enjoy the entire facility at our leisure before, in between and after our appointments. Every few minutes they would bring you some fresh orange slices, bottled water and a cool washcloth to refresh your face. I've had massages before, but this was my first time to go to a real spa. It was so, so, so, so nice. I felt totally pampered and girly.

I had the aromatherapy massage which was like heaven. I was totally relaxed and couldn’t believe it went by so fast. Next time I’ll spring for the 80-minute session. After our spa services, we all met back at Christy’s house in Pascagoula for an old school slumber party. (What is it with slumber parties now that I’m old? I think they’re cool again – it’s my second one in two months!) We chowed down on junk food, drank wine, reminisced about college, and just sat around relaxed from our spa day enjoying a night without our husbands.

I think it’s something we should definitely try to do more often – maybe once a month or at least every other month. It was a total treat. Now I just have to find a way to pay for all that expensive pampering.... :)