shhh! This is a library!

Yesterday when lunch time rolled around I was tired of sitting at my desk. I didn't have a magazine to read on the treadmill at the gym. I didn't want to go to mall for fear of spending money. So I decided to go to the library to find a new book.

Only after I pulled into the parking lot did I realize that was a bad call. I should have stayed at my desk.

The parking lot was FULL. Actually, over capacity because people were parked illegally. I'm a very legal person - so I stalked a mom and her kid to their spot so I could have it. Then I see another mom + kid duo. And another. And another.

I think to myself "Oh, look - children's reading hour or something must be finishing up." I think it was more like an "or something". As I walked in the door - some children were screaming their heads off as if someone just stole their favorite toy, some children were just yelling, and some children were just whatev.

I try to be extremely patient when I am somewhere and their is a child's event going on. I understand that when there are a lot of small children in a large group it can be hard to manage. I understand that around lunch time it may be nap time for a large majority. I get it.

It's hard for me to not get flustered or anxious though. I am trying to work on being more understanding and patient. I know that one day, I may be that mom with the screaming child in a library (although my parents never allowed us to speak above a whisper in a library - regardless of the situation). Children aren't always angels - so I know some day I'll be out running errands with an irritable, unruly child. I often ask myself how I would handle this situation? What would I say to that child for them to understand that what they are doing isn't acceptable? What would I do to reinforce this? Would I just cut my errand(s) short and take them home? Say "we're done for the day!"? I am the youngest of three - so I'm not even sure I remember what my mom did when we became unruly.

I can only hope that the parents of these children acting like maniacs in a library are doing everything they can to teach their children how to properly act in public. One day, when they are older, they will hopefully appreciate their parents efforts (and so will the rest of society).

And I can only hope that when I become a parent, I hope that I don't suck at it.

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2009 in Review

I've been thinking about this post for a few days now and I kept thinking to myself "There wasn't a lot that happened in 2009...so I'm not sure what I am going to talk about."

Then I started sifting through pictures...and a lot happened in 2009. So here is Mrs. B's 2009 in review. Sit back and enjoy.

We started the year off with our best friends (and neighbors) getting married. So much fun!

We got a raised garden bed built.

A new patio. (complete with steps to the backyard - so nice!)

Raised flower beds in front of the house.

Some more friends got married. Yay!

I decided on, reserved, and have started a backlog for my Etsy business.

I tried to learn how to water ski

Our friend, Stacy, was here to visit. And schooled me on how to water ski.

I went to my first body building competition.

My brother-in-law and sister-in-law came to visit us for the 4th of July

We picked muscadines on John's Island with the in-laws

Spent some time fishing

Mom & Dad took their first ride on a jet ski - now they are hooked!

Spent some quality time at the lake with my family.

ZOMG. We bought a car!

I refinished a very old desk for my craft room.

The Mr. made a lot (and I mean a lot) of apple jelly.
(Guest post coming soon...)

The Mr. also ran electrical and installed ceiling fans on our front porch.

We found out my sister is going to make our family and +1!

Got to spend Christmas with my brother and sister - first time in three years.

The whole family at Christmas

(I thought I'd throw these in here since I didn't do a Christmas post)

The best part of everything we did this year - I got to do it all with him. And that's what makes it so great!

There weren't too many milestones from 2009 - but overall it was a great year. I know a lot of people are ready to give good riddance to 2009 and bring on 2010, but I have to be thankful for all that 2009 has given me and taught me.

I've had a lot of opportunities to spend time with my family and my in-laws. We've made a lot of memories. Both my husband and I have made it through the year gainfully employed, although we were worried about layoffs at one point or another.

And speaking of layoffs - even though I seriously spent the entire year waiting to get laid off, I have decided that I am done with that. I don't want to worry about getting laid off or "what if I don't have a job" or "ZOMG, if I get laid off it'll be the end of the world." We have spent a lot of time this year preparing ourselves financially and mentally for a layoff. No matter what happens or what God puts in front of us - we will be fine. We will make it and as long as I have him next to me every step of the way, then I will be happy and blessed.

Happy New Year, everyone! Be safe!

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Happy Birthday!

happy birthday, big brother.

now you're in your late twenties.
sucks getting old, doesn't it?
:)

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A Day at the Lake

Back in August The Mr. and I went to spend a weekend at Lake Murray with my parents. It was a great time and thankfully the entire family was able to make it!

So since I'm so late blogging about it all - I'll just make this post picture heavy.

Dad and Jon on the jet ski

Mom's first time on a jet ski!

The Mr. fishing for bait...
So we could catch some catfish!

The sun setting over Lake Murray

The family pet, Lady

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Happy Birthday, America!

Okay, I know this is incredibly late...but bear with me. It's for posterity's sake, right?

The weekend of the fourth, The Mr.'s sister came to visit. We decided to head downtown and find the Mice on Main. We printed off the clues, grabbed their little dogs, and headed out. We also had an ulterior motive - visit the Saturday Market downtown. Yuuuum!

We made a few pit stops along the way. The boys would often hang out with "the girls" (aka The Mr.'s sisters pups). There's a little doggie bistro that we stopped in which was pretty cute. It was weird being able to take the dogs inside with us.

They are pretty cute dogs. And don't "yip, yip, yip!" Which is key because if they constantly yip'ed they may not have survived the weekend. Not gonna lie - I'm not a fan of what I fondly call "yip yip" dogs.

We also had to make a stop by Mast General Store. The Mr. loves this place and he likes to sneak in whenever we go downtown. I don't mind so I waited outside with his sister while the boys went in to shop around.

Next stop - the park. I've always found the park to be so pretty and I jump at any chance to be able to go down there. If I were to do a Trash the Dress session - this is where it would be, hands down.

So since I like the park so much, we wanted to take them there and show them the bridge. When you stand still on the bridge you can feel it moving as people continue to walk by. It's a crazy feeling but the view from the bridge is well worth it.



After our adventure downtown, we headed home to relax and get ready for the cookout. Our friends T&J came down for the cookout and brought homemade "cheese pie" (aka mac and cheese baked in the oven) and homemade apple pie. Oh, it was so good!

The boys also decided that they wanted to light off some fireworks so they headed out in the afternoon to pick some up. Buying fireworks the day of is the second best idea to buying them the day after (they are so cheap then!). But if you buy them the day after then you obviously can't set them off on July 4th. So we went with the second best option.

I decided to try out my not-so-elite camera skills to get some pictures of the fireworks. The ones that came out the best were the ones I took on the "sports" setting. I thought I'd share some of these with you.




The last few pictures have a story behind them. The fireworks stand the boys bought their fireworks at threw in "one free firework of their choice". So our friend, M, chose "The Tank". The whole evening he talked about how it was going to be the best one out of all of them. So we had to save it for last. And we did save it for last. "The Tank" had little wheels on it - so we thought it would roll down the street after we lit it off.

...instead it just fell over on the side. And was a pretty big disappointment. It was funny though. :)

And I'll leave you with a cute picture of me and The Mr.

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