Christy's Baby Shower

This weekend I got to spend some great, quality time with some good friends from college as we celebrated my friend Christy and her soon-to-be baby boy, Jackson. It was so much fun to see old friends, laugh, talk about old times, and catch up. I love these girls, and I'm so excited to meet baby Jackson in just a couple of months!

After the shower those of us who stayed in Hattiesburg went for drinks and dinner at Keg and Barrel. We met up with even MORE old friends and just had a great time.

I cherish my girls' weekends so much, and they become less frequent with the addition of babies and added miles that separate us. As Christy once put it, our girls' weekends are like chicken soup for the soul, and I couldn't agree more.

Until next time, we have some great laughs that will last us a while! My love tank is full. Ha!

Memorial Day Weekend

What a WONDERFUL Memorial Day weekend!

We headed straight to Eagle Lake Friday afternoon and spent Friday evening and all day Saturday playing in the water, relaxing at the top of the hill, and just enjoying the weekend.

Saturday evening they held a fish fry benefit for a family friend who's been battling cancer, and my favorite band, (and our wedding band) The Chill, played right there at the top of the hill. It was such a great day, and the benefit was a success. Good day to be at Eagle Lake for sure. :)

On Sunday we hit the road pretty early and took it easy until late afternoon when we rode out to Katherine and Paul's nice new house on the reservoir. We grilled some burgers and chicken and then took their pontoon boat out for a sunset cruise. It was so pretty and nice to be out on the water.

Yesterday was work day around the Grey house. We restained our storm shutters on the front of the house and spray-painted some patio furniture for the deck. It was HOT to be doing outside work, but it was nice to check a couple of things off the to-do list.

It's always so nice to have a long weekend, but it makes it that much harder to get back in the swing of things on that dreaded Monday-kind-of-Tuesday.

And, of course, we are very grateful to all the men and women who have have sacrificed for our freedom. It's easy to forget the real reason for the holiday, and we need to always remember that all gave some, and some gave all. God Bless.

Bless Her Heart

We gave Izzy a bath last night for the first time in all 10 years of her precious life. It was quite a site. YES, I had to take a picture in the middle of the trauma... it may never happen again, and I thought it would bring a smile to your face this morning.

And for the record, once she dried off and got over her grudge, she sat in my lap for the rest of the night and purred. No hard feelings, just a few scratches. :)

Good Music, Good Weekend

We enjoyed some GREAT live music in Jackson this weekend - Wilco played downtown at Thalia Mara Hall. We had some friends come in town for the show and we saw so many people we knew it was ridiculous.

Definitely a super fun night! Glad Jackson is finally getting some good music. Did you hear Elton John is playing here in September? Amazing!

Sunday morning I hit the road bright and early to spend Mother's Day with my mom. We visited with my grandparents and ate lunch at 206 Front in downtown Hattiesburg. It was a lovely visit, but unfortunately I do not have any photos to share.

It was a great weekend!

Ch-ch-ch-changes

I mentioned in my previous post some friends of ours, Drew and Kristin, are almost done building their new house. In fact, they are finishing the details and are probably moving in as I write this. They are one of three couples in our group of friends who are in the midst of a move.

Granted, these aren't huge moves... from Flowood to Vicksburg (temporary while they've been building) to Madison, from Clinton to the Reservoir, and from Jackson to Madison, but there is still a lot of moving and shaking going on right now in my little circle of friends.

I won't lie, I've got the house-hunting bug, too. We're going to try our hardest to stay put for at least another year if not two so we can make a bigger upgrade when the time comes. There's no real reason for us to move right now... I love our little house on our little street. Too bad we're losing our little neighbors. There have been a few tears shed already with a few more weeks to go before moving day. It's sad.

While I bide my time at home sweet home, I will just live vicariously through all my friends in their new digs. I will even help unpack boxes to get the true "feel" of moving. I will smell the fresh paint and help hang things straight on the walls. Then I'll come back to my own home sweet home and maybe rearrange a shelf or clean out a closet just to feel like I, too, have made some changes. :)

Quiet Time

We had a nice, quiet weekend at home, which seems like a repeat of the majority of our weekends for the past month or so. I'm getting quite used to it!

Friday night we went to happy hour after work and then sat on the deck with some friends (a favorite activity of ours). Saturday we did a little flea market shopping, went to visit our friends Drew and Kristin to see their new, almost-finished house, and then grabbed some authentic Mexican food from the Taqueria to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, went grocery shopping at 8:30 on a Saturday night, then hit the couch for the night. We're really exciting, I know...

I spent most of Sunday lounging in the baby pool we bought last summer. I needed a little bit of sun, so I just sat outside and read my book for a few hours. It was soooo relaxing. That "aqua lounge" was the best $25 I've spent in a long time, and I have a feeling it will be making many repeat appearances this summer.

It's already 90 degrees here, so it's going to be a scorcher. I plan on spending every weekend in some body of water, whether it be Eagle Lake, the Reservoir, a friend's pool, or the aqua lounge. While I absolutely LOVE fun weekends on the boat with friends, sometimes a little quiet time is good, too. I feel rested and rejuvenated today. I guess it's going to be a good summer any way I look at it!

Neglected

Dear Blog,
I am so sincerely sorry for the neglect I've given you over the past couple of weeks. I know it's no excuse, but I've been out of the office for work and busy after 5, so my computer time has just been limited.

Plus, there just hasn't been too much to write about. We've done a few fun things on the weekends, but nothing too out of the ordinary. But for the record, there has been a friend's birthday party, a boat ride or two, the start of a new softball season, a dinner-and-a-movie date night, a 5K, some quality neighbor time, and a few odd jobs around the house... See? Nothing too exciting.

I promise to prioritize you again very soon. For real this time...
Yours Truly,
Elizabeth