Jamie Danford

Where Did March Go????

Good gravy! This month has flown by in a flurry of events.  From celebrating my baby girl's seventeenth birthday (seriously???) to enjoying St. Patty's Day with some of my dearest friends, we've made a bunch of great memories.

I sill can't believe this girl of mine is 17 years old!

We took her to Myabi for her birthday dinner (nothing says celebration like a knife wielding Japanese man.)

 

Poor kid, we didn't even get her a birthday cake! She was happy with her flaming cupcake though.

 

 

Man, remember those elaborate slumber parties? Trips to Atlanta? Pony rentals?  We've finally reached the age where she just wants her closest friends and a really good gift...  

 

 New subs for her Mustang? Absolutely! This mama is happy to pay up if I don't have to host a shindig.  

And speaking of shindigs, March means St. Patricks Day in the SAV.  Now, I must admit that I avoided the parade for many years because I was too scared to take Lizzy down there in the madness.  However, nowadays, she and I are happy participants in the revelry, albeit in two different camps.  

A few years ago, once Lizzy was old enough to roam on her own, I horned my way into my friends' well established party brigade. Their families have been celebrating the parade for decades, and take their partying pretty seriously... so I fit right in! 

It's hard to believe that I've known some of these characters for over thirty years.  They're like family.  (A really really really weird family who appreciates good food and adult beverages.)

 

Lizzy, on the other hand, went in search of her favorite BC Cadet...

And then she and her bestie stalked the squares until time to head to Tybee for post-parade fun.  

It was a great day... heck, it's been a great month.  

(Did I mention that I CANNOT believe my kid is 17?  Oh, sorry... )

 

 

One Foot in Front of the Other...

Seeing as how I sort of took a bit of a hiatus from ALL PHYSICAL EXERCISE the last couple months of Summer, I definitely needed to get my ass back in gear.

I felt like such a slug for copping out and only doing the relay option of the Rock n Roll half marathon in November, so in an attempt to vindicate and re-motivate myself, I decided to register for the inaugural Publix Savannah Women's half marathon to be held March 28th.  I'm the kind of person who needs to follow a training plan and see results to keep on track, so I printed off Jeff Galloway's walk/run method and stuck it on my fridge.  And just like when I've trained for my other big races in the last few years, I check my mileage every week, and get a little obsessive about planning for my long runs.  

I'm only up to the 8 mile mark as of last week...

... But I've got nine big ones staring me in the face this week.  I love the dread and anticipation of a long run... planning where I'm going to stop for water, picking out my favorite socks and sports bra, and making sure I've got a great playlist ready to rock for a 90+ minute canter through my hood.

I'm feeling pretty good about where I'm at, and even gave myself a little confidence boost by running a couple of the Critz Tybee Runfest races last month...

This ^^^ is a perfect example of when you reeeeeeallly think you look cool, but realize this is as good as you get. However, it's also a great reminder of me feeling MUCH better about myself as I finished the 10K in a time I could actually be proud of (unlike that damn Rock n Roll.) 

So it's back to a life of BioFreeze, compression sleeves, Ibuprofen, and cold mornings for me...

 

...and as I trudge forward, putting one foot in front of the other, I am LOVING it!

Run Jamie Run! ;)

 

Trippin' My Trigger...

As we roll into the month of March, there are SO many things that are making me a happy chick.  Let's take a looky...

1.) This book...

...It is SOOOO goood!  Gone Girl is a great book, but I'm liking this one just as much, if not more. Gillian Flynn is writing her way onto the top of my list of favorite authors. 

#2.) We've been getting a lot of use out of the Dhuland firepit.  

I think we may have finally burned the last stray Christmas tree last night.  (The dang things just keep showing up!) And as much as I do so love a good ol' inferno with our friends, I also really appreciate our private little morning fires the day after. 

After last night's party, the coals smoldered until this morning, and Big Dave coaxed them into firing up again.  Nothing like a good ol' Bloody Mary (Thanks for your leftovers Lupicas!) in my pajamas by the fire.  Perfection.

3.) And speaking of perfection... after searching the aisles of Kroger, Rite Aid, Publix and the rinky dink Walmart by my house, I FINALLY found my absolute #1 FAVE medicated Chapstick.  Yes! 

Okay, so I may have bought every one on the shelf, but dammit, all is fair when it comes to the battle against chapped lips.  

#4.)  Oh! And this makes me so happy too!  

(Yes, that's a model of a poop emoji made out of Play Doh, courtesy of a certain 8 year old.)

Today, I took some time to play with my friends' kids... and I'd forgotten how much I LOVE Play Doh!  

Seriously?  Back in the day when Lizzy was a tot, I wanted to ban the stuff from my house because it never failed to end up ground into the carpet or stuck to the dog.  However, I think I'm gonna have to go buy me a starter pack, because I had the best time!  Talk about a stress reliever.  (And my cheeseburger Happy Meal creation was award winning if I do say so myself.)

#5.)  And lastly, this KITTY...

She's the cutest grand(fur)baby ever! In two months, she's managed to steal all of our hearts... especially her grandpa's.  We've had a LOT of felines in our lives, but this little tuxedo is unlike any we've ever had. She's more like a dog than a cat, but still has all the cat qualities that I adore.  Our sweet Mazy... LOVE her!  

So, there's my fab five for tonight.  What's tripping your trigger lately?  

 

 

 

 

I Might've Failed My Redneck Test...

Everybody knows a girl can wake up with a wild hair, and wanna do something out of her comfort zone, right? Well today was one of those days for yours truly.  After a good twelve hours of sleep, I arose with a goal in mind... to have a full day of quality time with Big Dave.  I've been such a nut job lately worrying about Mom,  that I felt like we needed some good ol' couples bonding.  And I'm pretty sure that I shocked the shit out of him when I asked him if we could not only spend some time together today, but go to the hunting club so he could teach me how to shoot the pistol that's been sleeping under my mattress for the last umpteen  years.  

I think he thought I was high.

Seriously... for me to suggest this is akin to the parting of the Red Sea.  He couldn't get in the truck fast enough!  

So we grabbed a sack of Krystals, and headed to the 'country'... aka Big Dave's hunting club in Brooklet, Georgia.  Where the cotton's a plenty, and you're allowed to fire a weapon.  

... Check out the 'club house'... sure the windows are all broken, there's a giant rat living in the attic, and the toilet only flushes when you pour two gallons of water into the tank... but it's charming, right?

My goals for the day were simple... get familiar with the 38 revolver and 380 semi-automatic that reside beside my bed, and enjoy some 1 on 1 time with my boy.  I was kinda TERRIFIED of shooting the guns because I'm scared of pain and our new health insurance doesn't kick in until March 1st, so I had to put on my brave girl panties (which are invisible btw.)

Big Dave went first...

... and after watching him not die or get maimed, I got brave enough to shoot...

And looky looky who shot a bullseye on her first try!  lol.... Big Dave was so surprised!  But I'm not quite sure what all the fuss is about... just line up the sites and shoot right?  

We had a great time with target practice, and then he said he needed to get a deer stand off of one of the trees back in a 'clear cut.'  So I was like, 'okay... no problem I'll just lie in the back of the truck and read my book.'

Um... NO.  

He asked if I'd help him, because he needed someone to 'hold the ladder' for him.  Okay... no big deal right?

WRONG

In true redneck fashion, we headed off toward the woods of doom on his 4-wheeler... down the highway, right onto the red clay road, through the gate, splashing through mud holes and over food plots until we came to this...

...the infamous 'clear cut.'  The deer stand that we needed to retrieve was on the opposite side of this.  I'm pretty sure this is a scene from Horton Hears a Who... or possible Armageddon. Either way, it was 100%  COMPLETELY traumatizing.

Listen... I'll be the first to admit that I'm a big ol' pus. Give me a snuggly blanket, soft mattress, or warm toddy by the fire ANY day, but do NOT make me ride a 4-wheeler over fallen trees and debris while bogging through three foot deep mud pits that look like some sort of scene from Beyond Thunderdome.  

Yet, that's exactly what we did.  

KILL 

ME

NOW.

I was sort of terrified by the time we reached the illusive tree stand. 200 yards NEVER seemed so far!  

And sure, I might've put on a brave face, but I kinda just really wanted to cry as Big Dave strapped the entire tree stand to the front of the 4-wheeler. I came to the realization that we were about to have to go back the way we came, but with a bunch of shit tied to us....

It was only because I trust this man with every bit of myself that I climbed back onto that damn death trap to head back... Even when we got stuck on a stump, and had to get off and push the friggin' thing back to level land, I knew that he'd get me back safely...

 Of course we survived (I might've been a tad bit dramatic) and Big Dave even let me drive us through the easy  parts and back to to the club house.  So all's well that ends well. But I'm still doubting that I'll receive my official redneck card.  

However, it was fun trying!  And I'm pretty sure my boy and I needed this adventure in the woods to help us put life back into perspective.  It was a GREAT day. 

But... PLEASE LORD NEVER make me do this again!!!!  

I love my life. I love my redneck husband. But I do not need to EVER dip my toesies into the kingdom of redneck again.  I'm good.  I learned my lesson, and I quit.

More power to ya, Light's Out Hunting Team... that clear cut, bog fest is ALL YOURS!

;)

 

Feelin' the Luv...

Wow, after a totally shitty January, I was craving some normalcy... whatever that is.  The DHU has been on pins and needles for so long now, that even the most cliche acts of Valentines sweetness were welcome this year.  

Which is why I was so happy that my sweet girl was totally spoiled by her boy.  

Seriously? Roses?????  Heck I don't even get those!!

He's good.  REALLY good.

She loves him madly.

...And speaking of mad love...

So thankful that I got to spend yet another Valentine's with this boy.  Twenty three and counting!  

My heart is happy.

 

A Lot Can Happen in a Month...

Well. 

I'm really not sure how to even begin this post... there's been SO much going on in the last month that it's hard to wrap my brain around it all.

So let's just do a brief recap of our life in the DHU and start moving forward again.

First, Lizzy ended up getting diagnosed with Mono.  

She'd been super exhausted and sore, but I kept blaming it on general teenage malaise. (Oops... another 'mother of the year moment.') So after the bloodwork came back positive, along with a good ol' case of strep throat, she was banished to her bed for at least two weeks.  

Unfortunately, those two weeks couldn't be made up at school, so we had to withdraw her from her beloved SVA because she missed too many days to be promoted to the next grade.  (In Georgia, you can't miss more than twenty days of school... even if they're excused.) So now she's an official student of Keystone Academy online for the rest of her Junior year.

It pretty much felt like we'd be sucker punched in the gut at first, but there are definitely some perks. (Sleeping late, and being able to pick up some model jobs are at the top of the list.) Of course, the mono has kicked her ass so she can only be active for a couple hours at a time before retiring to her bed for a long rest.  It sucksssssss.

And then there's the second really super bad thing that happened this month.  After basically putting band-aids on the situation for as long as we could, we finally made the decision to move Mom to an assisted living community.  It was a difficult process because depending on which mood her Alzheimer's had her in, she'd either be ready and willing to move, or dead set against it.  

But her memory loss, compounded by some pretty scary hallucinations and fears, made the situation very necessary.  (She came at me with a golf club because she thought I was a burglar... NOT GOOD.)  We did consider bringing in full time help, but really doubted that would help because she would probably not remember who they were and get freaked out about a stranger in her house. 

So we let her pick out her apartment (with a lake view) and bought pretty furniture (didn't want to take stuff from her house, just in case she's able to come home for visits.)  It all seemed like it was going to work... until we actually took her to move in.  

She was NOT happy.  So now, I'm on the shit list... Mom's confused and agitated, and I feel like I have a ball of barbed wire in my stomach.  I've been called everything from a saint to a gold digger.  

So to sum it up, my life is a little unstable at the moment.  Sure, we've had some fun stuff happen in the DHU too, but the yucky stuff has overshadowed it by far.  I'm still in the 'processing' phase I think, and at any given moment may laugh hysterically or cry my eyeballs out.  My brain won't shut off, so sleep has been elusive.  Last night I finally took a Melatonin and got a full 12 hours, so I'm feeling a little more like myself today. 

Alzheimers is a total fucking asshole of a beast.  Yep, I think that pretty much sums that up.

Yep, January's been a ball buster... in addition to the two biggies, our HVAC tried to die, our health insurance was accidentally cancelled, and my nephew ended up in ICU.  I've never been more stressed out or close to full on  panic attack/ crisis mode in my entire life, and my liver may be permanently damaged.

So I'm gonna chalk January up to a loss and get ready for a much better February... I hope!   

Give me a chance to recover, and we'll get back to our regularly scheduled programming asap.  Luv ya!

December Daily: Day 26 ~ Afterglow...

I can't stop smiling.  (And yawning.)

Holy mistletoe... that was the BEST Christmas!!!  

The last two days have been a whirlwind of laughing, eating, drinking, lots more laughing, presents, family and friends.  

I really needed this to be a relaxing, fun holiday... so when Big Dave's mom agreed to bring the BAMA gang to the DHU, I was thrilled!  This is the first time I've hosted Christmas at our house, and it turned out to be one big party.  I love those people!

Christmas day was almost perfect... Poor Big Dave had to work, which put a damper on it a little, but Uncle Mike and Uncle Ricky kept us laughing at their crazy stories from growing up in Phenix City, while Nana and I got dinner ready, and the cousins lounged around watching Christmas movies and playing with my grandkitty, Mazy.  

We opened our presents on Christmas Eve, since Big Dave had to work, and  I got spoiled rotten.  As usual, my mother in law outdid herself by hooking me up with a gorgeous set of wine glasses (she knows me too well)

and my niece, Taylor gave me the matching decanter.  I promptly put them to good use...

 And being my official BAMA-wear provider, Nana also gave me a new ROLL TIDE shirt, which my darling daughter immediately stole...

And speaking of my precious cherub, she made out like a bandit.  Of course there's no way to outdo last year's Mustang, but I think she's pretty stoked about her new t.v...

...and her PADDLEBOARD!!!!

(I've gotta get a better pic!) My little beach bunny LOVES paddleboarding, so the Board Loft on Tybee served as Santa's workshop this year.  

And of course, not only did we celebrate Christmas, but also Big Dave's birthday.  Whew!  When did my badass boy get to be 47?!?!??!  

 

So we made sure he got spoiled too.

It was SUCH a great holiday!  

Hmmm... I think I need a turkey sandwich!

 

 

 

 

 

December Daily: Day 23 ~ A Kitten For Christmas!!

My kid is picky. I mean like SUPER picky.  Especially when it comes to who she chooses to date.  Is there another word that's even pickier than picky? Yeah, well that's her.  

So when she started dating Matt I figured he must be pretty darned special.  And over the last three months, he's made my girl smile... alot.  But goodness gracious, he took the smiles to a whole new level today when they exchanged their Christmas presents.

There were blood, sweat and tears poured in the choosing of presents... concert tickets, assorted apparel, favorite treats, and a few randoms, but then Matt told her that he had one last present waiting in the car.

He ran outside, and came back with this...

 

... the cutest little tuxedo (black/white) kitten...

...Complete with a big red bow...

(And yes, he'd called us for permission.)

(I guess this is what happens when your kid dates a dude who's mom is a vet, eh?  Oh my Lordy, we're gonna have fifty two thousand animals! )

All I know is that when she smiles, and I see those dimples, my heart sings. What a sweet memory for her... I guess picky pays off.

Meowy Christmas!

 

December Daily: Day 22 ~ It's a Savannah Thang...

Okay, let's have a show of hands... How many people have memories of going to Carey Hilliards that go back several decades?

Go on, raise your hand... 

I know I do.

When I was a wee tiny tater tot, my family would pile into the station wagon and head on over to Carey Hilliards whenever family came to town.  Sometimes we'd get it for a special occasion by ourselves, but mostly it was when Pappy Dick or Grandma Edith or Aunt Margaret came to visit.  

And now that I'm a big ol' grown up who doesn't cook, their fried shrimp, brunswick stew, and onion rings are a trusted (and majorly unhealthy) staple on the Dhuland dinner table.  

 

Do folks who weren't raised here eat at Carey Hilliards?  I don't know... I'm not sure I'd eat there if it weren't filled with so many yummy memories.  It's kind of a grease bucket... but dammit, it's OUR grease bucket.  Right Savannah?

So I guess you know what we had for dinner tonight. Haha!

It was good to the last drop!

Ho HO Ho!

December Daily: Day 21 ~ An Early Present for MEEEE!

Merry merry MERRY Christmas to me!  

In the six years that we've lived in our old fixer upper, one of the things that has pained me the most is our door situation.  We need all three exterior doors replaced, but it's so confusing and blah because, like everything else around here, they're old and have to be custom fit.  

But the process has finally begun... which brings me to my Christmas present from Big Dave...

>>>>>>>William!!!

Not only is he pretty darned easy on the eyes,  he's an uber talented carpenter, and he's going to make my door dreams come true.  He came over today to get measurements, assess the situation, and accompany us to Home Depot to pick out the first door to be installed, which will happen later this week.  (YEEK!)

Thank you Big Dave!!

I'm giddy. 

GIDDY I say!

Merry MERRY MERRY!!!!!