Sad Times...

Love is when your heart hurts when somebody else's heart hurts.

Depressing evening for sure. Got word that my dear cousin Brian lost a beloved member of the family. Puddles, the 22 year old shitzu died today. Understandably, Brian is sad... which makes me sad. I don't know if we've been close simply because we were closest in age so we always ended up doing everything together Grandma's, or if it's just the fact that he's the coolest older cousin I've ever had, but Brian has been my buddy since day 1. We are 16 months apart and I can't imagine growing up at a cooler time in the Tittle family. We've shared almost every milestone together. The first big loss was his goldfish Theodore. He won that stupid fish at church and it ended up living 15 years. He was devestated when it had a stroke and he found it swimming in circles becasue it's fin was paralyzed. Yes, it's ok to laugh here. I laughed hysterically with him until I realized he was genuinely upset over it. Theodore eventually died and Brian was crushed. I'm pretty sure that was our first taste of death together... at least the first that I remember. We've been through much more since that - bringing us to today. My poor cousin is sitting heart broken 2 hours away and there's not a thing in the world I can do about it. SO, I told him I sent hugs from Muscle SHoals, I love him, and my heart will just have to hurt for him from here. Sadly, I don't think that helps. However, he's got a wife and Pax now, so I'm sure he'll be just fine.

Equally as depressing, I just watched the Duggars season finale where they had to bury thier 20th child, Jubilee Shalom. My heart broke for my favorite family. Those Duggars are amazing. Through it all, they have unwavering faith and are an amazing example for everyone the encounter. Tomorrow, we will hopefully return to brighter days! :0)

La Chocolate

Love is a BIG surprise of new furniture.

Let me set this up. Sister is gone for Spring Break. Chef is gone on a whirlwind tour of the southeast coast. Bowser is gone to LA. I am alone. I'm alone at work. I'm alone at home. I'm ok with that. However, I came in the door from work this afternoon and the broom was in the livingroom. That in itself doesn't sound troubling unless you have carpet in the livingroom so you KNOW you didn't just leave it out after sweeping. The mysterious broom almost gave me a heart attack.. that was until I saw the new furniture. Aha! The furniture fairy came while I was at work. Furniture fairy being Dad-o and Sister. Apparently they got the crazy idea to buy furniture while on spring break. We are now the proud owners of a chocolate couch and 2 recliners. Whereas I'm very excited about the new furniture, I feel as though a little part of my inner hippie died today. My beloved burnt orange couches are now sitting in the dump. May need to play a little Bob Marley tonight. :0)

The Amazing Grandma and the Banana Pudding

Love is being pushed to do what you don't want to do... and doing it anyway.

What does a 6-day work week get you? A 3-day weekend, my friend. And I took FULL advantage of it. I went and spent Friday with Grandma. Much to probably her disgust, I loaded her up and took her on the road. Now mind you, it's not her first time out of the house, but it is her first time out with me since her stroke. We used to go everywhere, all the time. Now she'll only go with Dennis - and that's mostly just to the doctor. But this week, she up and decided to go. Excited was one way to describe me. We went and saw Aunt Flora and then to see Aunt Wilma and then to the "Depot". Home Depot to be exact. Then we met Dad-o for lunch. And then we made one more stop at a store to get her a new doorknob. It was an extremely successful first outing. Then Saturday, we made banana pudding together. Delicious and somewhat nutritious.

NOW... he's heard it all.

Love is telling Chef anything and him not running away.
Today was one of those weird days that leave you in hysterics. I popped into the server station in the restaurant today to order some delish cheese fries for lunch and one of the servers who I see nearly every day of the week says (in front of 2 guys who will never let me live it down) "Did you get a boob job?" #1. Seriously? How do you respond to that. #2. Why in the sam hill would you ask somebody that? And #3. When pray tell do you think I had time to get one between yesterday and today? You can't exactly pop down to the 7-11 after church and pick one up. I instead chose to crack up and assured her they were real and they were mine. And so, I waltzed back in the office, half shocked/half laughing hysterically. Chef, while talking with Ryan, looks to me and says, "What?" I replied. "So Telina just asked me if I got a BOOB job." He was stunned. "SO, I continued, me and my boobs are going downstairs for lunch. We'll be back in half an hour." Again, he had no clue what to say, but he's my best guy so he's about heard it all. It was hilarious.
OH and then we were talking about someone that had been partying like a ROCKSTAR and I said, yeah, like Gene Simmons. His reply? "Oh is that the exercise guy who says "Work it ladies?" as he did a very prissy dance move. I about fell out of my chair laughing. "NO, that's RICHARD SIMMONS! Gene Simmons is the lead singer for KISS." You had to be there. It was by far one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life. (0:
Good times. :0)

Welcome to the World, Baby Matthew!

Love is a new life and a sweet baby.

If a pic is worth a thousand words, these pics are worth about a million. This family is very special to me and they just added one more addition. Coach Finley was the first love of my 5 year old life, so I've known the Finleys forever and absolutley love them. I played bball with Molly. She's awesome and she just had sweet little baby Matthew named after someone even more awesome. There's nothing more precious than a new baby and the love that it brings to a family. Here, we have a few celebratory pics. Mrs. Finley, Coach Finley, Molly and her husband Russ, and Aunt Maggie... all pictured with the celebrity-of-the-day, Baby Matthew. :0)

Ghosts of Kim Past... and Present

Love is excitement to see old friends!

It's been a weekend of full-on surprises from old friends. Friday I flew in the office when Bowz yelled to come and see who was sitting with him. Much to my surprise, Lucas was there! Lucas was my best buddy. I have missed that guy! He's doing great. Taking over the world... a corporate captian of industry. I just wish he were aroudn more. He makes me laugh. Yesterday, we had a tent at a Shopping Tournament, so I had to work all day. Luckily, Jim hung out with me. It was a blast. I tried to get him to bust a move in the parking lot, but for some odd reason, he thought that would be frowned upon. I did finally get him to play a game of poker. Last night, Buddy came to visit. I haven't seen him since... Styx. It's been a while. I made him my famous baked chicken stuff with pepperjack cheese and wrapped in bacon. And then we watched some Psych. Fun times. :0)

Victory!

Love is all around.

Where is Mary Tyler Moore when you need her? I feel Brian's pic at least deserves a little of her theme song and then possibly her tossing her hat in the air... at least once. How cute is that? It really has nothing to do with my blog today, but it was so cute I had to include it. My dear cousin is headed to a coaching clinic for 4 days. Wouldn't be bad except he'll be in Atlanta without his wife Kayla and Paxton. He'll never make it.

As for the second pic, well, that's Coach and his wife Andrea. And guess what? He WON! Yep. Winston County finally will have a Superintendent with some brain power. How exciting is that? Not only will he be SMART but he's also a great guy. I've said on many occasions, he's the reason I'm not in jail. He's prayed with me more than anybody in my life. We still crack up over the fact that his post game speeches used to inlcude, "Don't drink. Don't smoke. Don't get pregnant. Stay out of trouble - if you do get in trouble - call me." Not sure why he included that last part. I'm pretty confident if I called him from jail, he would've left me there for the night. Cheers to Coach! :0)

A Little Bit of Hockey & Rocking the Vote

Love is making the best of a bad situation and rocking the vote.

Quick catch up. Since last week, I attended another little kid basketball game. Carson was in the championship. I nearly had to beat up the ref because he was AWFUL. We spent the weekend planning to go to the last Saturday night home hockey game of the season. After an adventure in eating and driving aimlessly through Huntsville, we made it to the game to find out that it was sold out! Sad face. However, we made the best of that bad situation and went bowling. 3 rounds. It was fun. Yesterday, Sister and I drove south to stay with Grandma so that we could get up and rock the vote this morning. We had to go support Coach. And even better, I was the 1st person to cast my ballot in the entire place. Sister was 2nd... so I had to email Coach and let him know that when we left the Town Hall, he was up 2-0. We scored the first two points, so in his old basketball analogy, he had to finish strong in the 4th quarter. Keep your fingers crossed! The reason we had to be busting down the Town Hall door this morning was because we were on T-Ball duty this afternoon. Chloe needed a Kim at her first t-ball practice, so I went. 3 & 4 year old t-ball could make for a Loooooooong season, but on the bright side, my kid was the best. She could play the socks off of any of those other kids. And we even managed time to play in the dirt and give her two french braids in her hair. Not only was she awesome, but she was also stylish. Good times. :0)

Success!

Love is getting exactly what you ask for... sometimes.
Had to make that horrid trip to the Hobby Lobby again today. Once more, I prayed all the way over that #1 they would accept my return with no drama and #2 they would have my frames ready that they messed up the first time around and #3 I would get the one competent guy in the store to wait on me (or at least ANY other person in Flo-town besides the 2 I normally get). Once more, I got everything I asked for. It all worked out. HUGE BLESSING!! And now, love is going to be baked in some white chocolate chip cookies for me and Sister! :0)

Mmmm... Mmmmm... Umi!

Love is sharing lunch with a good pal (in my case, Chef).

I've said it once, I'll say it again. Lunch with Chef is the best thing about Marriott life. We haven't had lunch in FOREVER, but we finally decided it was time today. We are predictable. I got the same thing as always... he got the same thing as always... it was the same price... and best of all, the company was, as always, fantastic. 98% of the time, we eat Japanese/Chinese. That's the best that Flo-town has to offer. JD Sumner was right. It's no fun to eat alone. SO, I would suggest you find some love and go eat lunch with your best pal today... or if you're in Flo-town, stop by and have soup, salad, sushi and vegetable rice with me and Chef. :0)

Get Your Groove On..

Love is liberty for some, laughs for others.

Have you heard of "Pole Dancing for Jesus"? It's the newest craze in a town in Texas. And yes, it's just what I said. No hidden meanings here. It's simply a pole dancing workout that uses contemporary Christian music on the 2nd Sunday of the month. You have to bring your church bulletin to get into the class and you continue to worship as you twirl around a pole. Here's the link.. check it out for yourself. http://abcnews.go.com/US/hallelujah-christians-pole-dance-jesus-texas/story?id=13194891. In honor of this new discovery, I thought I'd add a few pics from the past of my own dance. It was a good try, but only lasted until I was old enough to start basketball. Like many of the Tittles, I wasn't blessed with any rhythm, so dance really isn't my thing. A few of the cousins got it, I did not. I have learned this is not my spiritual gift and despite what the song, "I Can Only Imagine" says, I'm pretty confident the Almighty will never ask me to dance for Him. It's just not pretty. However, I was a pretty cute 3 1/2 year old if I do say so myself. :0)

Snail Mail

Love is in a letter.
Every week I write little cards to the kids in my class. At first, it was a way to introduce Becky and myself to them. Then I thought it'd be a great idea to send them their memory verses. I thought they'd learn them. Well, that never happens, but if they don't get "REAL MAIL" they are crushed. Becky and I both agreed with them. It's fun to get real mail that isn't a bill. So tonight, I did my cards and it got me to thinking about letters I've gotten over the years. Much like my Aunt Skipper plans to keep Kodak in business by buying 35mm film for her camera, I plan on keeping the USPS open by buying stamps. With blogs, email, and texting, a for-real, letter is a dying artform. The coolest letters I ever remember getting in the mail were summer letters. You know, when you're out of school, living in the middle of nowhere and seeing nobody, as a little kid, a letter is exciting! Mrs. Tidwell, my 3rd grade teacher wrote me about a 3 page letter the summer after I got out of her class. I wish I could find it. I kept it for years. Another letter I remember getting was from Mrs. Head, my 8th grade English teacher. She was an amazing teacher and gave me a love for English... and grammar. Then there are other short cards. I keep them all. I always enjoy Auntie Pat's cards. I guess because I always feel the need to read them in an English accent. And then, there is the BOX of letters I have from school... stuff that we wrote during class. There are a ton from Mal and a great majority are from Jenn Cockrell. Jenn's are particularly hilarious. It's no wonder none of us are too bright. We spent too much time entertaining ourselves. :0)

First They're Sour - Then They're Sweet...

Love is fun with Chef and Hot Dogs for Grandma.
Ever seen the Sour Patch Candy Commercial? First they're sour then they're sweet? Yeah, that's how this post will be. The first half deals with the pic of Chef and Little Susan. Susan is our Accounts Payable Accountant at the hotel. She is VERY good at what she does, because she will drive a crazy person NUTS to get what she needs to do her job. Chef and I enjoy turning the tables on her. 9 times out of 10 when she comes to pester us about invoices, we will break out in song. Or we get a witty bantern going back and forth that leaves her head spinning. We thoroughly enjoy ourselves. OK, now to the sweet. My Grandma! She LOVES hotdogs. So when I went to town, Cynthia and I got her an All American hotdog with relish and kraut. Her favorite. Love for Grandma was shown in phone calls, visits, and food yesterday. It was fun. I either talked to or saw every single one of her kids yesterday. Normally that is reserved for Sunday afternoons, but I got a little bit of all of the yesterday. Good times! :0)

Letters to God

Love is the perfect Christmas present.

Tonight was opening night of Children's Letters to God at the Shoals Theater. Since my Uncle Fuzzy, Becky, Cousin and Josephine got Sister and I Gift Certificates for the season, we were of course, in attendance. And it was awesome! James Baggett, the kid in red, goes to my church and he did great. For all of you dedicated blog readers, you will remember him from Charlie and the Chocolate FActory. He played Charlie. All of these kids were really good singers. It was a cute show. LOVE my tickets to the theater. Thank you Canerday crew. :0)