Late Night TV

This blog entry is actually in response to a very good blog written by my sister-in-law Anna regarding the recent Leno/Conan fiasco at NBC. Though I wouldn't consider myself an avid viewer of any late night tv shows, I have watched both of these gentlemen and its clear that Conan is naturally very funny and Leno, though famous enough to always have the BEST guests on his show and several good segments within the show, is just as Anna quoted my brother as saying, "Leno is only as funny as his writers allow him to be". This is so true. So here is my response to Anna's blog, literally cut and pasted from her comment section. Plus I was feeling guilty for not having written a blog entry in a while. And if I did, it would be about all-day morning sickness or something lame like that, so I decided on this, which is a slightly lesser degree of lame. Thanks for reading!

My response to Anna's Blog entry "I'm With Coco" at www.myfirstfriendandme.blogspot.com: 

I agree and I agree! Though when given the choice, I almost always choose Leno over Letterman because of exactly what you said about Letterman's increased politics and cynicism and sometimes downright crudeness, its certainly not because of Leno's humor. His jokes are clearly forced, and even when funny, HE himself is just not that funny to me! I think Kevin Eubanks is the only one who laughs! lol. However, Conan is certainly one of the goofiest and genuinely hysterical people in late night TV (aside from Jimmy Fallon and Chelsea Handler--whom I love but I think I just totally ruined my 'crudeness' argument from a minute ago) and I hope this situation, though neither he nor Leno asked for it, will cause him to succeed instead of fail.
All that being said, I don't get to watch much tv, even late at night because I'm such a zombie by then, but I wish the whole situation had been handled dif by NBC, who clearly made a bad call in this decision! Ratings or not, Funny RULES and should be respected! lol.

30 and flirty and thriving...well sort of

Happy birthday to me! I heard someone say the 30s are the new 20s and now that I am officially a little over a week into my 30s, I must say that things are off to an exciting start! A brief recap: I had an awesome 30th birthday party thrown for me by my hubby and friends at my house and the theme was tacky Christmas. It was awesome!

I especially loved everyone's tacky Christmas outfits. I had also spent that morning sewing stockings for my fireplace with a special little edition that we announced at the party:

 
I had wrapped the 5th stocking and opened it as if it were one of my birthday gifts and said "Why look! Its a 5th stocking!" and of course it took a minute for everyone to catch on. However, when they realized it was a special announcement everybody got real excited! It was somewhat anticlimactic but I thought I was being quite clever. Now the stockings are monogrammed (except for the baby's stocking of course) and hanging on our mantel! I do need another stocking hanger though.

So Sunday we celebrated my birthday with the fam at Mom's house for a yummy taco lunch (complete with seasoned fake taco meat for me! woot!) and more presents and then the NEXT day was the big day! I was officially 30! I got breakfast in bed by my kids and hubby and then was off to the gym to take BodyCombat and then teach BodyPump. What a great way to start the day! I announced to my class we are having another baby, so that was fun. Angie came over while we were at the gym and so when we got home we hung out and Daniel brought us some yummy sushi--what a great birthday lunch!

That night, us and the Rays went to eat at TGIFridays and then grabbed Starbucks and headed to Southern Lights at the Central Park. Now that's what I call a fun birthday! :)  

 

Tuesday was a normal day, except I had a sub for my Zumba class so I could watch Haven's tumbling program at her school (Haven is in all black with zebra print bow and ruffles on her tights, she's the youngest in her class but I thought she did GREAT!):

So Tuesday proceeded to be normal, even did a good show in Oxford that night with some fun ladies...until the ride home. I was ALMOST home on Pleasant Hill near the Bridgetown levi when a large animal (at the risk of sounding crazy yet again, it was a wild hog or boar, people--I know what a raccoon/possum/deer/dog/coyote/armadillo looks like--this was none of those things!) was in the road and I swerved to save his (and my) innocent life! I then hydroplaned so I swerved back to the left and skid diagonally across Pleasant Hill towards the ditch on the other side. When my back tires hit the mud (it had been raining ALL day) my Trailblazer began to flip and roll down the ravine towards the trees. I do not know how many times I flipped, but at the time it seemed like a million! I could feel it happening in slow motion though I'm pretty sure my eyes were shut and I could feel debris and things inside my car just going through the air all around me, like when you shake a snow globe. When I finally came to a stop, I was facing the wrong direction but I was actually right side up! I remember thinking "Am I in shock???" because I could feel no immediate pain. I saw a light by my feet and saw that it was my cell phone so I called 911 immediately. The lady began asking if I was hurt and I was crying hysterically saying "No I'm not hurt but I need to know if my baby is okay!!"
Dispatcher: "Ma'am...please calm down...Where is your baby?"
Me: (sobbing as I turn around and look at Haven's disheveled carseat in the backseat) "Oh! My baby isn't with me! She's at home with her Daddy. She isn't with me!"
Dispatcher: "So there is not a baby in the car with you? Was there a baby in the car with you ma'am?"
Me: (still sobbing) "No, no, no, my kids are not with me!"
Dispatcher: "Ma'am please calm down. Are you hurt? Are you sure there is no baby?"
Me: (suddenly realizing what a moron I was sounding like) "Oh YES! The baby. is. in. my. belly!"
I am quite certain if that show "Rescue 911" still came on, I would be one of the nutcases they display on the show. Anyway, the ambulance picked me up, took me to the ER, they called Gary (very interesting the way they did this) and FINALLY performed an ultrasound to see if the baby was okay. 4 hours after the accident, they told us the baby was fine and I was free to go if I refused a CT scan, which I did. I had a big bump on my head and my rib was hurting but I was okay! The next few days, I had a terrible sore neck but bearable, but my rib kept getting worse. I have now decided with all my medical expertise that it must, indeed, be cracked. Or not.
The Trailblazer has been totaled and sent to vehicle heaven with busted windows, all 4 tires flat, and more mud inside than a redneck teenage boy gets on the outside of his truck going muddin'. And lots of jewelry is missing along with several birthday gifts, but these are easily replaceable, along with my jewelry showcases and Haven's carseat, which are no longer usable. 

So all this to say that I am very blessed indeed to be safe and my unborn child to be okay! Thanks to my husband who was a huge help around the house while I was laid up on the couch going crazy. And thanks to my friends and family who have prayed for me and helped encourage me! This situation could have been so much worse, but God has revealed yet again His awesome mercy in my life. Like one of my friends said on my facebook: "Your life is just one miracle after another!" and I totally agree! Praise the Lord!

Its Fall Y'all!

Oh Happy Fall!

Fall of course is one of my favorite seasons (tied with spring and winter and WAY ahead of summer, which I could do without except for laying by the pool and sandals) and this fall is going GREAT so far! I have a new nephew, Finley Rucker Schwegel (good luck in spelling, buddy) and he is just so precious! I can't get enough of the little cutie! He weighed only 6.4 lbs. and was just under 20 inches long. I was asked to be in the room during the big ordeal and it was so miraculous! Okay, at least sideways it LOOKED miraculous since I had to lay down on the couch a couple of times to regain my composure. But nevertheless, it was amazing! I've only been on the other end in the labor and delivery room, so it as quite interesting. I took over 100 pics over the course of the 7 hours or so, documenting my sister Jessica bringing her first child into the world and its just so neat to see how God uses strong women like Jess to bring new life to the planet! So cool.

Another reason I love fall is the fall clothes! I know this subject totally pales in comparison to the subject above, but how do you follow introducing Finley???

But anyway, I LOVE fall clothes! I especially love boots and jackets and scarves! And of course I can't forget jewelry! But for those out there just wondering, here are my top fashion picks for the fall that you absolutely must have:

1) Something PURPLE- this year's hottest hue and if you don't wear it, get a fun purple necklace like the Rhapsody or Purple Passion in our Premier catalog, I can help you with that. lol

2) Flat boots- these are especially cute under the long dresses we wore in the spring/summer but paired with a jean jacket or drab-shab blazer. Also fun over skinny jeans or leggings.

3) Cowboy boots- coming from someone with 5 pairs of cowboy boots, I really do believe these are a necessity! Wear them as mentioned in #2 or wear them under boot-cut jeans and you are one foxy cowgirl.

4) Giant gold earrings- Again, I can help with this. Gold is BACK!

5) Pashmina style scarves- worn doubled and looped around the neck or wear it old-school scarf style and spread part of it out on your shoulder for a very elegant look. Good as a wrap, too when you're freezing in church, etc.

6) Enormous rings- Yes you can, dah-ling.

7) Long runway-style necklaces- These break up the monotony of color in solid dresses and sweaters and also slim you if worn in layers. Do not be afraid of the length! This is a very flattering look when done correctly.

8) Big handbags in skins or metallics

9) Bangles- not the band, but stacks and stacks of bracelets on your wrist that let people know you're coming from a mile away. Love it!

10) Dresses with jeans- This one I love by default because I'm 5'9" so most 'dresses' end up being long shirts on me anyway, so the leggings sometimes make me look like a dress with bird legs sticking out of the bottom. However, pair that cute dress with some skinny jeans and some high heels and va-va-voom, honey, you are looking hot!

Okay so these are just a few of my picks in the fashion realm. Feel free to add any as comments! I love to know what YOU'RE wearing this fall and what you don't love as well! (i.e. stirrup pants and short military jackets...I mean, REALLY?? Or skinny pants on guys...just stop it.)

I am looking forward to more fabulous fall weather and stuffing myself silly on Thanksgiving with my family.

So Happy Fall Y'ALL!