Merry Christmas from Us to You!!!

Merry Christmas from Us to You!!!

This year I have so much to be thankful for: great health, new job, a new car, new house, friend's weddings, babies being born left and right, fun roadtrips and many experiences.  Good has truly blessed me with a wonderful life and I should have no complaints (even though I do whine from time to time.)  I am thrilled to be going home to Corinth today and cannot wait to see my family and all of my hometown friends.  There is just something about home and especially growing up in a small town like Corinth!  I hope that I can pack everything in while I'm there; however, that very RARELY happens, even with being there for 4 days.  From our home to yours, Merry Christmas to you and your family!

 

Bridesmaid duties call again...this time for a "little sister"

This past weekend was an eventful one to say the least.  Friday night, I went to a Tacky Christmas Party that benefitted CARA.  After the party, John and I rode over to Hal and Mal's in our get up for the North MS Allstars.  We decided to leave there and head to Fenian's and then to F. Jones Corner.  Needless to say, we were out way too late for our age or at least I was out too late for my age (guess I should speak for myself.) 

I woke up the next morning at 8am to find something wrong with my plumbing.  Remember that I just bought my house four months ago so this did not sit well with me.  I called the plumber and he came to find out what was wrong.  The main sewage line seperated and I was stuck with no plumbing and a huge plumbing bill staring me in the face.  I went ahead and had them fix the problem and $650 later, I have a new pipe in the ground...lovely!  Instead of taking a nap and making myself feel better about what had just occured, I decided to deep down clean my house which turned into a 7 hour project. 

That night, I helped host a party for one of my very favorite people who I consider a sister, Miss Carolyn Hartlein and her awesome fiance, Scott Noblitt.  The party went well and we had a great time!  I was SO tired from the night before and the occurances from that day; however, I knew that I had to muster up the strength and go hang out with Caro and some of her and Scott's friends.  Needless to say, I didn't last long before leaving and heading back home and hitting the hay. 

Carolyn is just like a little sister to me and I love her dearly.  I cannot wait for her fun wedding activities March 12-13th at Old Waverly and am honored to be apart of her special day.  I will suit up for my 17th wedding and take the duty of bridesmaid for a special friend.  Here is a picture of me and the bride to be after her party.  Love you Caro!!!

I want to be apart of it....NEW YORK, NEW YORK!!

I'm back from NYC and had the absolute BEST time!!! I wish that I had the guts to move there but unfortunately I don't think that I do. We left on Saturday morning, arrived in NYC that afternoon and headed to dinner at the RedEye Grille which was wonderful! On Sunday, we got up and walked to SaraBeth's for brunch (one of my all-time favs) and then headed to the TKTS booth in Times Square for Mary Poppins tickets. Me, mom, dad and Em went and saw it and I highly recommend seeing it if you're ever in NYC. Mom and I went to see the Nutcracker at Lincoln Center that night while dad, Em, Wes and Laurie went to see the Giants play. Monday was a very busy day! Mom and I headed out at 8am to visit several of her showrooms and look at the Spring 2010 clothes along with buying a BIZILLION pashminas, scarfs and gloves for her store. We met back up with the rest of the family to see the Rockettes at Radio City. It was awesome and I'm glad that we went. After the show was over, Em and I went to the Chicago ticket office to get our tickets to see the show that night (starring Ashlee Simpson-Wentz.) As we were leaving, we had our first official star sighting (Ashlee herself) as she was entering the gate to backstage. Em was hilarious in the fact that she was VERY star struck...it was quite funny. We went to the show that night and had a blast! She was awesome, the show was great and we got to meet her afterwards. Great ending to a wonderful day! Tuesday rolled around and we headed back out early for some more shopping but this time, Em and Laurie joined us. We shopped, shopped and shopped some more. On our way back to the hotel (which was 1000 blocks away it seemed) Laurie and I stopped for a photo op in front of Parson's Design School. We then decided to venture off on our own and head to Mood, where the contestants from Project Runway buy their fabric. It was the neatest store and I wanted everything in there (made me want to recover all of my upholstery in my house!) I wish that I could afford $40 per yard fabric...haha. That night, mom, dad, Em and I went and ate at Carmine's (another one of my favs) and then dad and I headed to Jersey Boys for our "date night." We have the best time and the show was AMAZING!!!! I cannot wait to buy tickets and go again when it comes to Memphis. Afterwards, we met up with mom and Em and went to my very favorite restaurant in NYC, ROXY'S, and ate cheesecake for dessert. Another great ending to a wonderful day. I was supposed to leave on Wednesday morning but my boss (who is the BEST) told me that I could stay an extra day since my family would be there until Thursday. I was SO excited! We got up the next morning and went to eat at Stardust Diner which it really cool. The waiters and waitresses perform while you eat...pretty neat atmosphere and another place I would recommend to anyone. We decided that we wanted to see one more show so I had a hard time deciding between Burn the Floor (starring Kym and Maks from Dancing with the Stars) or Bye Bye Birdie (starring John Stamos and Gina Gershon.) I finally made up my mind when this guy on the street said, "Take it from a gay guy....go see Burn the Floor." So that is what I did and boy am I so glad that I did...MAKS IS SO HHHHHHOOOOOOOTTTTT!!!!!!!!!! If you think he's hot on the show, you have no clue how hot he truly is until you see him dance or meet him in person. GOD did great things when he created that man:) After the show, I got in stalker mode and stood outside of the backstage door so that I could meet him in person....and I did! I don't think that I will ever wash the jacket that I was wearing because he was kind enough to hug me....haha, what a sweet guy!  I met back up with mom, dad and Em afterwards and we headed out to shop some more. I am so so tired and my feet are worn out!!! I've never walked so much in my life which is a good thing. I cannot wait to go back so if you're interested in going, let me know and I'll accompany you anytime

It's Beginning to Look alot like Christmas!

Me and my roommate Carmen had a little decorating party at the house.  I only have a couple of pictures and will have to post more later.  Here is a quick look at the tree and the den mantle.  It's definitely bright in the Keys/Stockton compound!

The WILD tree

The mantle with mine, Carmen, Bella and Tom Tom's matching stockings...too cute!

A Visit from my special little buddy....

Prather King along with several other little boys (George Menetre & Grey Lowe, who I have yet to meet) have their aunt Say Bay tied around their little fingers!  Laura and Matt called me on Monday and told me that my little monkey was having to have tubes put in his ears on Wednesday.  So naturally, I offered for them to stay at my house so they wouldn't have to drive form Yazoo City at 5:30am.  Of course I had great reasoning behind it....to play with my little buddy.  They got to the house, we ate and I gave him his early Christmas present so that he could wear them to the hospital the next day....sock monkey Christmas pj's.  We had the best time opening the present, playing with the ribbon and especially ripping the paper into a million shreds.  His birthday is only a week away...hard to believe he will be one!

Happy Birthday Little Man!

The Rebels laid a HUGE egg in the BULLDOGS' nest...the GOLDEN EGG!

Well.....we did it Bulldog fans!  After three whole months of watching our DAWGS fight, fight and fight, they finally received something that they truly deserve...the EGG BOWL trophy.  We started tailgating at 8:30am and got to visit with one of my best college friends, Cathy Cadle Lowe, who has turned into somewhat of a Rebel.  Sorry Cathy...I'm sure y'all had to leave early.  My ballgame crew and I went into the game at 11:00am for kick off.  From the second the team entered the stadium, the players and fans were ready and on our feet.  I must say, I thought the Florida game was electric; however, last Saturday was the true definition of electric in Davis Wade Stadium.  After all of the sad losses we've had this year, the DAWGS finally won and won in a big way.  I HEART their love for the game, their spirit, their will to keep on playing and giving it their all and the smiles on their faces even after a loss.  I know that some of you know my obsession with stalking the players after the ballgames.  Me and my other stalking partner aka Maren McKinley finally got the picture we've wanted this whole season....Mr. Chad Bumphis aka Bump!  I have recruited another stalking buddy...one of my very best friend's, Gracie Thompson Menetre.  I was thrilled when she agreed to act like a nut with me (her child was not in attendance for this game.)  Here are some pics of the night. GO DAWGS...cannot wait for next season!  The countdown has already begun!

Me, Cathy and Gracie tailgating before the game

So sad it's our last game of the season but SO ecstatic that we're winning!!

Where oh where did the mighty mighty Rebs go?

We did it....GO BULLDOGS!!!!

Coach Mullen letting all of the MSU fans know that we're on a rise!

The game day crew minus Kimberly who was sitting in the Rebel section

Of course we were several of the last ones who stayed in stadium to soak up the victory!

C. Bump's #1 fans!!

My new obsession...Mr. KJ Wright...so so sweet!

Me and my stalker buddy with Phernell McPhee aka SEC co-defensive lineman of the last week of the season

Brandon McRae's last ballgame of his college career...great game, McRae!

Tyson Lee, such a great Christian man and great example to everyone.

It gets dark outside after a BULLDOG win and the insanity begins......

(Me, Bailey, Gracie and Rod)

The three tailgate stooges

Crazy Women!!!!!

Our night would not be complete without running into Greg Byrne at Barrister's

Fun Road Trip to Little Rock but no win!

This past weekend, I went with my favorite MSU fans Brad & Maren to Little Rock to cheer on the Bulldogs. These two are the BEST and always invite me to be the third wheel wherever they go. When we got in town, we went to meet up with Maren's parents and several of their friends at the Flying Saucer. We had a ton of fun with them...they were hilarious! Afterwards, we went to Sticky Fingerz to hear Outformation . We didn't stay long since we had to rest up for the big game the next day.

We left the hotel at 9:15am to have plenty of time to get to the stadium...boy, were we cutting it close! Traffic was horrendous, parking was $20, the parking area happened to be a golf course and it was a huge mess. If you have never been to this game, you MUST go! I have never seen so many true rednecks in my entire life. I will have to post pictures of these people later.  From what my friends from Arkansas tell me, you will not see this in Fayetteville, only in Little Rock.  The ballgame was UP & DOWN and UP & DOWN some more.....the joys of being a Bulldog fan. As you already know, we lost which is always hard.

So in true BULLDOG fashion, we held our heads up high and kept on going. We left the game and headed back down to the Riverfront. We started out at Sticky Fingerz to eat and then went to the Underground Pub to meet up with Maren's parents & their friends again to watch the Rebels and Tigers. WOW-what a game! After the game, we went back to Sticky Fingerz to hear the Dirty Dozen which is one of my favorite bands. One of my college friends, Molly Carson lives in Little Rock.  We met up with her and her friends and were able to share a table with them. What an awesome weekend in Little Rock even though we didn't come home with a win....maybe we can pull it out this weekend!





Me, Brad and Maren at Dirty Dozen



Me and Miss Molly



Me and ET from Dirty Dozen...it's been awhile since I've ran into him but he still remembers me as Smillie's friend...he is a MESS!!

STATE vs. BAMA weekend in God's Country (#2 to Corinth, of course)

Another awesome weekend in Starkvegas with the Bulldogs!  Here are a few pics to recap the fun time had by many.

Me and Grace with Baby George...so good to  FINALLY hang out with them.  He stole my heart instantly, even with the slobber and boogies.  Grace told me I would be a great mom since I wiped it up with my pashmina, haha. 

I was so happy that my roomie traded the Rebs to come to Starkville.  I think she secretly had more fun:)

Me, Grace and Beth tailgating before the game.  We were so excited that Beth chose her alma mater over the Rebs....she LOVES her Bulldogs!

Me with my tailgate gals, Maren and Mandy.  We LOVE our awesome tailgate and the scrumptious Bulldogtini's!

This little man has his Aunt Sara wrapped around his little finger!

I heart Dan the Man!!

Me with two of my best friends.  Hill and I were ecstatic that Lyndsey came to town.  She'll admit, being married to a Rebel fan is hard and so she had to come back to her roots...I think she was quickly reminded just how much she loves and misses it.  Maybe we can convert Luther into a Bulldog?  That would be VERY hard!

Me and Hill with Ontario Harper. This was just the beginning of my "star struck weekend."

To me, this place is just like Heaven!  So sad it's almost over.

Me and Maren with Jamar Chaney (yes, we stalked out the field house and waited on the players to come out..we're a little obsessed!)

Me and Beth with Tyson Lee...such a nice and great guy!  And yes, he is not very tall:)

Me: Anthony Dixon, will you please take a picture with me? 

Anthony Dixon: Girl, you want your picture, you got your picture

I will really appreciate this one day when he is famous and playing in the NFL!

A great time in Natchez for a dear friend's wedding

Two weeks ago (Nov. 7th,) I had the honor of attending one of my dear friend's wedding in Natchez.  I have known Jason McNeel for ten years and his new bride for three.  Ever since I met Joanna Biglane, we have been great friends.  She is one of the most sincere and caring people I know.  Long story short, I kinda played a part in them working out so this wedding was very special to me.  Joanna looked absolutely gorgeous and Jason was handsome as always.  They are SO in love and extremely happy and it showed every minute of the night.  Their reception was at the Dunleith and it was beautiful.  The Houserockers from Schimmel's played and the food was extremely tasty!  

Earlier that day, I drove down with several of my good friends, Maren, Brad and Jon Mark.  We went to a cool bar, The Tavern, to watch the LSU vs. BAMA game.  I shared a room at the EOLA with Brad and Maren so just as every time we're together, we had a great time!

Congrats to the newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. Jason McNeel!!!  I love you both dearly.