Liz & Carlton's Scrapbook...Finally!!

First of all, I've been soooo busy at work I barely have time to do any fun personal stuff, let alone, update this blog with anything of interest. All it would say anyway is...I'm busy, working too much sucks.

On a much lighter note, the long awaited scrapbook for Liz and Carlton is finished!! Yes, it is over 2 years due. But, hey - better late than never, right?!! The original intention was to have it complete in time to bring to Hawaii for the wedding September 2006. At least the intention was good!

So to all that participated in the journey with the bobbles, thank you! Liz and Carlton - I hope the Liz and Carlton bobble heads and accompanying scrapbook will serve as a thoughtful keepsake for years to come. I thought everyone else might enjoy seeing a slideshow of how the book turned out. I've included the verbiage from one of the pages explaining how the bobbles came to be. JT helped me put this into words. Elizabeth and Carlton I hope enjoy it!

Insert from scrapbook page introducing the bobbles:

Bobbles? Why bobbles?
A long, long time ago in a place called Graduate School, Liz and several other classmates became a small group of odd, but inseparable friends. Then through the years, this small but growing group of graduate friends started getting married. Liz, the ring leader in many cases, came up with the idea that we have to do something special for these momentous occasions. As s result,Fred and Michelle saw a sea of Fred and Michelle masks as they walked into their reception, JT and Farrah saw their pictures being taken with life size cutouts of JT (Elvis) and Farrah (Holly Marie Combs/Priscilla Presley), and who knows what will happen at Barb's upcoming wedding!

So, when Liz and Carlton decided to tie the knot, naturally, we had to come up with something just as special for them. Bouncing several ideas, we came up with the idea of bobbles! Yes, we created mini versions of Liz and Carlton! However, we had to do more than just that. So, we sent them (the bobbles) around the country to visit Liz and Carlton's friends to celebrate the upcoming wedding. Along the way, they were silly in Philly, Crazy in KC and a blast with Bruce!

The bobbles created a way to bring everyone there to enjoy Liz and Carlton's special day in Hawaii.

Bobbles Itinerary....

1. Detroit, MI
2. Rhode Island
3. Philadelphia, PA
4. Punta Gorda, FL
5. Charlotte, NC
6. Kansas City, KS
7. Memphis, TN
8. Hawaii
   

R&R at the Sunset House

Finally...it was vacation time!! It took forever to get here and went by too quickly! We had a wonderful time just relaxing by ourselves! It proved to be a great time to go...despite the threat of all the hurricanes! Hurricane Ike spared us and went instead to Houston. I feel bad for Houston but happy it didn't ruin our Florida vacation! The beaches were quiet and not very populated, which is just the way we like it. The house we rented was just off the beach. We had access just outside our door and beautiful views of the beach and gorgeous sunsets. The weather was perfect, only one 5 minute shower on Wednesday. It was still a bit hot but with Ike out in the Gulf, it brought welcome breezes and gusty winds. Wednesday morning/afternoon we had to retreat to the base of the dune as the surf washed away the beach. By Thursday there was no beach. That was ok because we had our own private pool by which we relaxed. Saturday came too fast!

We ate too much and I got too much sun in a very uncomfortable spot. Let's just say JT dubbed my new nickname 'cheeks'. Ahh....back to the grind tomorrow...yuck!

Great views from our lower balcony.


It's called the Sunset House for a reason!
The quiet, peaceful beach before the surf surge.

The house we stayed in is second from the front. The private pool was very nice!

We ate sooo much! We cooked two nights, picking up fresh seafood from a local market. I made baked oysters, baked red snapper, shrimp fettuccine and boiled shrimp! We ate out several times. Our favorites were Bud and Alley's and The Old Florida Fish House.

Baked oysters...Jt's favorite!

The beach Wednesday evening during the start of the surf surge.

Thursday the surf came up to the steps.

Getting Older...

Totally sucks. I went out for GNO - Girls Night Out - this past Saturday. Me and the girls had fun but there was some hell to pay for it the next day (read still too hungover to even boot up my pc yesterday). The sad part is that while sure, I had some drinks, it wasn't excessive amounts. I mean I'm a gal that can used to hold down a fair amount of alcohol. It was a mild hangover, mainly an annoying headache all day long, but the fact is I ain't gettn' any younger. Even sadder was that there were some young boys, and I do mean boys because they looked 12, at this bar and they happen to disclose the college they went to. It happened to be the same college I went to. Of course the question came up and they asked -"So, what year did you graduate?" 1999. Gasp! I think it took a good several minutes for them to process how old I must be if I graduated in the 90s. One of them actually said "You look hot for 30". Ouch! Couldn't they have just said, "You're hot". Why did he have to add the 30 part?! Little shit. As my friends said they were too stupid to even realize and totally meant it as a compliment. Yeah, that's right...a compliment. That's my story and I'm stickn' to it!

It REALLY is just a Blog

So I recently spent some time in the blogosphere, which is something I've not done in a long time. Sure, I've read a few blogs here and there, certainly none of which I felt compelled to read every day. Many of these I read are related to my profession of eLearning and instructional design/training and a few others are hobby like arts/crafts or personal blogs, which are apparently labeled "mommy blogs" in the blogosphere. Who knew? Not me. I'm not a mom. I'm a newbie to this blog thing anyway. Yes, I joined the party a little late. I guess when you turn 30 and all of your friends and their friends and their friends are having kids, those are the blogs you come across. You then follow links on their blog and so on....out to the blogosphere. I've come to a few conclusions about you serial bloggers out there:

1. You are trying WAY to hard. I mean come on! It's just a blog! You think your clever, witty posts are going to land you some high paying gig writing for some lame online column or something? You say you realize that, but secretly you are hoping your blog thing turns into something, aren't you?! OK Jennifer whoever you are that I read about somewhere (from TN no less) is apparently making some money doing this...but YOU are not. C'mon...keep it real!

2. Trying to seduce your "readers" with intriguing blog titles or posts to increase your traffic. Please! You talk about your "commitments" to blogging. I mean, is someone paying you to write? Don't think so....a tiny percentage of you, MAYBE. I'm a real person with a real job that requires real commitments. I don't have time to take pictures of every single thing I encounter each day or blog about every ridiculous thought that pops in my head. That would be weird, strange and no doubt boring.

3. You mention and praise other bloggers in hopes they will mention you on their blog. Who cares?! Geesh! I didn't like high school the first time around! Popcorn and Soda anyone?

4. Cussing and your transparent style of writing like use of this strikethrough shit style does not make you a better writer. OK, maybe it does pepper it with some f'n interest.

5. You have cute names to describe your kids, husband or family members. I guess I should be a little worried about using real names...I do watch a lot of news magazine shows - Dateline, 20/20 and their stories do freak me out. Yet, I still watch them anytime they come on. Whatever...maybe I'll come up with my own silly names.

6. Many of you see the fourth hour of the Today show...'nuff said.

Yes, I started this blog just to say - hey people I know (all 10 of you), here's what's up in our life. Not to secure "readers" or lure people to get revenue from annoying advertisements or some lame attempt to score a gig.

I do spend the majority of my time writing at work. You wouldn't know it by reading my blog, but I prefer to use this space to just write like the way I talk (Memphis, TN yo) and not worry about being grammatically correct. So if you think I don't write well, F you. I try to refrain use of F bombs for my family "readers" out there. So, I'll just say f'n or F or WTF. Ahh screw it. It's my blog! I can write what I want!

OMG...maybe deep down I want to be like you. I watch Jon & Kate Plus 8 and LOVE it! WTF?! Most of you are fairly sarcastic, so I can appreciate that. My undergrad was in psychology so I'm doing a little reflection here... Nah...It can't be that obvious, can it?! I'm sure if/when I get pregnant and start a family I will blog ad nauseam about my pregnancy and my mini-me's, but hopefully it won't be the typical "mommy blog"...I'm sure it will.

Chelsea Lately is on (love her!)...gotta run.

Baby Shower Central - Baby Girl

Here we go again! This time around it was for a baby girl(due on my birthday September 18!). We also got the chance to visit with Liz who was in town to help host the shower for Ranae. It turned out very lovely and Ranae got TONS of stuff.

Thanks to my friends Jennifer and Jill for contributing their craftiness for both showers. You can check out their work in the slideshows below. Jennifer does a variety of crafty projects including monogramming and did fabric covered buckets for me. I had flower arrangements made out of them and gave to the mommies so they can use the bucket in their nursery later. You can check out her etsy shop of handmade items at halffullmartini.etsy.com. Jill is amazing baker and cake decorator and did the cakes for both parties. Everyone loved the strawberry cake and colorful cupcakes. Now, I've just got to get baby presents for two other girlfriends who just had their babies. Then it's adios to baby stuff...for a while anyway!

Baby Shower Central - Baby Boy

The baby shower bonanza is well underway! Everyone I know is pregnant or just had a kid. This past weekend I co-hosted a shower for my friend Toni at my house. It was fun getting everything together, but boy I was tired when it was over! One down and one more to go this weekend! It would have been too easy for this shower to be for a boy too. Yep, this one is for a girl so all new decor! Congrats Sean and Toni on your beautiful baby boy!

A visit from Zanesville

So...it was that time of year again. JT's parents came for their annual summertime visit. I guess the summertime tradition started last 4th of July. And so it came around again for their 2 week marathon visit. Yes...2 weeks! That too began last year after JT's mom retired. Don't know exactly why they pick this month as it is very, very hot in Memphis. Prior to last year it seems like they had been visiting over Thanksgiving.

At any rate, we had a good visit. My parents even came one Sunday to eat lunch and spend time with the Schneiders. We went to the 4th of July redbirds game and saw their fireworks show followed by the Germantown 4th of July festivities the next day. We shopped, ate, shopped and ate some more. JT and his dad built a ramp off the deck so poor little Jake can get off the deck by himself (he's back to his old self by the way!). I was VERY impressed with the ramp. Thank goodness John was here and actually made it look professional rather than white trash gehtto mess we would have likely had if JT would have done it himself (love you honey, but you know it's true!).

They came, they saw, they went! We had our own Independence day Sunday, July 13th!
John and Mako you know we love you :) We hope you enjoyed your visit!

Jake Drama...yes, more.

So the last several weeks have been quite hectic for a variety of reasons. The number one reason is our Boykin Spaniel, Jake. He's our nutty, crazy, dog but I have come to love this little dog now more than ever. A few weeks ago Jake had some mysterious accident. It was a Sunday night after his nightly outing. Jake came back inside the house and appeared dazed and confused (more than usual). His eyes were dilated and he began walking funny. We soon realized he was going down hill and off to the animal hospital we went. This was our second visit to this hospital so we knew the drill. At the hospital he could no longer walk. They did x-rays and blood work and could not find a problem. The doctor figured he had sustained an injury to his neck or possibly a slipped disc. We had to leave Jake overnight and I just feared for the worst. The next morning we picked Jake up and took him to our regular vet. It was so sad, he had been given some pain meds and had to be carried in to the vet on a small stretcher. Of course tears are streaming down my face once again. I thought we would be saying our goodbyes shortly.

Jake remained at the vet all week. Long story short it was a waiting game and we didn't know if Jake was ever going to walk again. The vet concluded he likely did fall and just hit his neck just right causing swelling around his nerves. The crazy dog leaps off the deck all the time and rather than taking steps one at a time, he leaps up all 3 in one jump. I'm sure it was a fall.

We picked him up the following Friday and didn't know what to expect. We brought him home and soon found out. Jake couldn't walk or hold himself up. Amazingly, within a matter of days Jake was walking around on his own and seems to be about 90% recovered, which may be as good as he gets. He can't walk too good on the hardwood floors and often falls down, but maybe he'll learn to slow down! He is still wearing his vest so we can lift him up/down the deck steps, but otherwise he's back to his old self! JT and his dad have a project this weekend to build a ramp. Jake is going to have to learn to use the handicap ramp! He'll likely never be steady enough to take those steps. Ahh...I have a better appreciation for what it must be like having kids! I have to think this is the last major problem Jake can have...it just HAS to be! He's a nut, but he's my little nut!

Happy Birthday JT 6-21

Happy 39th Birthday JT! Hope you had a great birthday! Jarrett's was yummy :-)

Foster Visit Summer 08

They're back! It is that time of year again. The Foster clan descended upon the Schneider household Father's Day weekend. It was good to see everyone even though it was so short! We babysat the twins for a few hours while everyone else went to Graceland. We did good all by ourselves! We even changed some diapers!

Long time...no post!

Wow! It's been a long, long time. I seem to fall into this 6 month slump of being totally absorbed in work, and daily minutia and forget to blog about the minutia. Honestly, I can't think of anything particularly exciting since March. The highlight was April when JT and I went to visit our friends Molly and Chad in Knoxville. I wish I had taken some pictures!

We're back.....for a little while anyway :)

Slugs

I felt like this creature this weekend...a slug...though not as alarmed as he seems.


It was just one of those weekends...we were slugs. I'm sure everyone has them. It was cloudy and drizzling rain off and on over the weekend. We barely left the house, and that's OK. I did manage to do a couple of loads of laundry and hung out with friends for half of the Memphis vs Vols game Saturday night. I really could care less about college basketball, it was just the hype around the game that made it interesting to see who won. This is Memphis. I was sure I would see coverage of mayhem breakout downtown after the Tigers lost, but everyone seemed civilized.

Roux sure seems worn out from his afternoon of chewing his snake toy to shreds. His picture about sums up our weekend here at the Schneider house. Time to get back to the Oscars viewing...

Route 70 Party

70 years is quite a milestone. We celebrated my father's achievement of this milestone with a surprise birthday party on February 9th. I believe he was truly surprised and he seemed to really enjoy himself. Of course, being the 'baby' of the family and having no children, I was left in charge to pull together all the planning and details. I guess though, it's not all about me! He had fun and his friends and family came out to help him celebrate, so it was a successful party!

My parents took a trip last year down route 66 and they both had a great time. Dad has sold cars for years and years and has a love for old cars. I thought the theme of "cruising right along on route 70" and comparing him to a classic car was appropriate.

Down in the Delta

I've heard good things about the restaurant Morgan Freeman co-owns in Clarsksdale, MS called Madidi. The blues club, Ground Zero, we've heard is also the place for real deal blues muscians from the area. We decided to check it out with another couple this past weekend. It was good, and we had a great time, but we would not rate the food at Madidi as great. Even though they knew we were coming, there was no Morgan :( The food highlight was the crispy fried oysters in brandy cream sauce and the blue cheese au gratin potatoes. The blue crab potstickers were good, but nothing special. JT and I ordered identical plates, which never happens! I was craving red meat and we both ordered the 8 oz filet with spinach madeline and blue cheese au gratin potatoes. We both ordered our steak medium-rare. Mine was definitely medium, if not a little medium-well. Neither of us enjoyed the spinach madeline, which was spinach, baked with bread crumbs on top. I was not sure what "madeline" meant but I was expecting something creamier.
I had high hopes for the molten godiva chocoalte cake with vanilla bean ice cream. The cake was missing the molten lava that is supposed to ooze out. It had been baked too long.

We then headed over to Ground Zero blues club. It was a neat little place. There was definitely all types of people there - young, old, black, white and everything in between. The music was good and had people out on the dance floor (excluding JT and Sean). It was a fun experience but now that I've been there and done that, I wouldn't be too interested in going back. It was a bit far for dinner and music (1 hour 30 minutes). I think it would be more fun to spend an afternoon checking out the old downtown stores and having lunch at Ground Zero. Their soul food has had good reviews and caught national attention. It is probably better than Madidi!
Check it out at http://www.madidires.com/

The Frozen Tundra

We went to Minneapolis to visit with friends MLK weekend 1/18-1/21. Elizabeth and Carlton live there (poor things). We reunited with the gang who used to live here but moved away (lucky folks). We do miss everybody and had a fun time hanging out with everyone. We had plans to go tubing, but with the weather advisory to limit exposure outside due to the temperates, we thought that might not be a good idea. Instead we went hung out, drank, went bowling, drank, played Wii, drank, played catch phrase, and then Farrah made a complete idiot of herself providing entertainment for all. It was great. Of course, Carlton had to run and get his video camera. I better not see that footage on You Tube Carlton!! We did check out the Mall of America. It was big, but just another mall that happens to have a small amusement park in it. I have never been anywhere so cold in my live. With windchill it was like -20. The high I think reach 5. Absolutely insane, especially for a southern girl like me! We got to visit with friends and that's all that matters!

The gang from front: Ranae, Elizabeth, Karen, Stephanie, Scott, JT, Farrah
Back: Joel, Bill and Carlton
Liz and Carlton - they're used to this weather
Too cold!!

The Need for Speed!

Can I just say I LOVE my new laptop! Thanks to my husband for my new Acer TravelMate 5270 with 2 GB. It is so fast!! It is my graduation present. We toyed with the idea of getting a Mac. Then we remembered we get all the help and free software we need via 1-800-Bill. Thanks Bill! You know you love us :) We now don't have to share our monster 17" screen laptop...we've got our own! I have freedom to spend as much time as I want working on my movies, scrapbooks, photo books and blogging!

Okay, how ridiculous is it that we have 4 laptops laying around?! So sad. The baby laptop is my work laptop. My new speedy laptop. Then there is the monster laptop, now known as JT's laptop and then JT has his work laptop on the ottoman (JT's office). Cords and stuff everywhere! This is our life.

New Years...Reflections

So today is the first day for 2008. As you can see from my posting history, I've been making up for lost time. SOOO much happened in the fall and I failed to make any posts past mid August. 2007 was the year for travel for us. I started my new job at Hilton Hotels the week before Christmas 2006 and the year stayed pretty busy. What a difference a year makes!

New Years was spent throwing a party for our friends Casey and Gary who were moving to Nashville. In February we spent a long weekend in Greenwood, MS at the Alluvian hotel. Greenwood is a tiny town where we headed just to "get away from it all" and that we did. Viking Appliances is headquartered there and also owns the hotel. In March we headed to Nashville to visit Casey and Gary. It was near Casey's birthday and St. Patrick's Day. We had a blast painting downtown Franklin green for St. Patty's day. In May we traveled east to Gatlinburg TN for another dose of R&R. We rented a cozy little log cabin and explored the Smokey Mountains.

May was the same time frame we decided to adopt the newest member of our family, Jake, a Boykin Spaniel. I didn't have the blog going at that point in time but am sure I could have devoted many postings to our trials and tribulations with Jake. Not that we are problem free, but he seems to be doing much better now. During the summer we visited our friends' lake house at Kentucky Lake and got the itch for buying vacation property for a lake home. We always thought something like that would be a good investment and just made the deal. Family visited in August and of course the world wind trips that followed in the fall included a trip to Napa Valley, South Beach Miami and Japan.

I don't really like the idea of New Years resolutions because they always seem to fade so quickly. Rather, I choose to focus on a word for 2008...an idea really, and that is BALANCE! Balance in every way. JT and I work very hard and often let our worklife take over our personal lives. JT especially works long hours and I know it continues to be a focus of his to achieve more balance. I often let my mind be preoccupied with thoughts of work...upcoming deadlines, projects, stress. I let my thoughts and worries keep me from living in the moment. I enjoy time to do creative projects like creating photobooks, scrapbooks, creating a website, painting and artsy/craftsy projects. I also want to learn to play the piano again and would love to buy/rent a piano. JT would love to get a motorcycle again someday. Riding his friends' bike over Christmas increased this desire. It may scare me that he could get hurt, but I know it is something he loves to do. So, I say do more of what it is you like to do....that's my goal. 2008 I will achieve more balance in my life! Hopefully, I'll also be better about updating our blog!

Schneider Sez have BALANCE. See you in 2008!

Farrah Graduates...finally! 12/15/07

Ok, so I know it has been 7 years in the making...but I finally did it! I have completed my Master's in Instructional Design and Technology. I have letters behind my name...M.S. Be nice....Master of Science, of course. I have been finished with my course work for over two years but life kept getting in the way of working on that master's project. Things like a bank merger demanding 80 hour work weeks, planning a wedding and remodeling our house. So hooray for me...I'm officially smart!!

Holidays 2007

I love Christmas. This year we had a little gathering at our place Christmas Eve. It was nice and really made me feel like were weren't just all by ourselves this year. We made plenty of food and made some of our Christmas candy. This year it was Oreo balls, or Reindeer Balls as they are called for Christmas. We had a little gift exchange and sipped Jingle Juice, a yummy new adult beverage I discovered in Southern Living.


While we did stay here for Christmas, we went to Jonesboro the day after to visit my family. We had our traditional Christmas dinner and all the little elves passed out presents.


The following weekend it was Schneider Daycare while we watched Hannah (9), Samuel (7) and Luke (5) while Eric and Susan went to the Liberty Bowl. I also volunteered to take on Christina (5), my friend Jill's daughter, while she and her date went to the Liberty Bowl. Everybody was good, aunt Farrah and uncle JT were just ready for a little downtime the next day.

A Wedding Album...Finally! 10/15/07

October 15th was our second wedding anniversary and I finished our wedding album just in time! It was only 2 years in the making! I originally started of with a scrapbook, which I still intend to finish one day. A friend told me about a site called blurb.com which lets you upload and create your own book, complete with a jacket, hard cover and high quality printing. I was so happy with the way it turned out! I also did a photo book on Shutterfly for our Napa trip and while it turned out good, I was much more impressed with the quality and artistic look of the blurb book. You can view the first 15 pages of my wedding book 10.15.05 on blurb.com. Yeah, I'm so excited it turned out so beautiful!

Japan Trip 11/14-11/27

Wow! That about sums up our trip to Japan. We spent nearly two weeks there staying with JT's uncle Isamu. This time around my parents tagged along with me, JT and Mako. We were due for a visit and figured we better get in another trip to Japan before we start having kids (whenever that might be). Even though the point of the trip was to visit family, we packed in a lot of sightseeing and mini-trips. For me, I think the highlight was visiting the mountain resort of Minikami and staying overnight in a Ryoken, a traditional Japanese-style hotel. This area is known for the onsen, which is natural hot spring water. My mom and I accompanied Mako and her sister Noriko to the bath - naked, of course. There was no way I was going to do the co-ed bathing experience. The womens only was scary enough. Once I got there and got in the water, it was no longer a big deal. We also stayed overnight at the Hilton Tokyo and had about a day and half to soak up as much of Tokyo as we could. We managed to fit in quick trips to the Imperial Palace, the Meiji Shrine, shopping and sightseeing in Ginza and Shibuya. This blog would be a book if I wrote about all the little experiences, so I think pictures do a better job of telling the story. My goal is complete a Japan book, similar to the one I did for our wedding. Check out our Japan 2007 pictures. There are over 200, but you can speed up the slideshow and click at your own pace. Happy viewing!

The Party Continues in SOBE 9/21/07

So...my 5 Factor diet I was all gung ho about back in July, which was to prepare me to get a body like Halle Berry by September, didn't exactly come to fruition. Well, there were many factors really...lost motivation and lost motivation. Taking a wine trip and gorging on delectable food the week before probably didn't help. Ahh well. My first trip to South Beach was a blast. Having had just a wee too much wine the weekend before guaranteed I would not be getting too crazy in SoBe! Molly, Molly P, Liz and Ranae helped me celebrate the big 3-0 in style. We stayed at the Doubletree Surfcomber (a Hilton property, of course) which was right in the middle of everything. The first night we were not too sure where THE places to go were so we just walked around and checked out everything. We passed on an invitation from the bouncer at the Mansion because the crowd looked suspect. We learned later the Mansion is one of THE places to go. Oh well. By the next night we had figured out that various hotel lobbies and clubs were the places to be. Hotels on Collins Avenue such as The Delano, The Sagamore ,Loews Hotel, and The Shore Club were where all the pretty people appeared to be. We ate dinner at Nobu at the Shore Club and then on to the Skky bar. Two fabulous trips celebrating my 30th with my husband and friends was a great way to usher in the 30s! Check out my SoBE 30th Birthday pictures.

Farrah Turns 30 - Napa Style!

JT conspired with our friends Casey and Gary to plan a trip to Napa. He had been planning the trip since our visit to Casey and Gary's house in Nashville in March. We had long talked about a trip to Napa and my and Gary's birthday was the perfect opportunity! We only had four days but we managed to pack in a lot of wine tastings and fun! September was a beautiful time to go as we had perfect weather. We were also in time for crush. We split our time between Napa and Sonoma. JT and I decided we liked Sonoma a little bit better, except for the fact that I was hungover on our drive through the mountains, which was not fun at all. The mountains and scenery were just gorgeous! Check out my Napa photo book .