Playroom Pics

New Playroom colors...and dots!

And the dining room in its soft yellow.
Still trying to figure out what to do with everything - 3 years after we moved in!

A Promise

"I promise to never speak to you like that."

I made that promise to Laura not once, but twice today while in the grocery store.

I admit that I prefer to go to the grocery store on the weekend so that Grant can keep Laura. I can take my time. Make my list. Go through my coupons. Walk up and down each isle and then circle back for the one thing I missed. But that doesn't always happen.

And yes, it was late in the afternoon. I'm sure the mothers were tired from a full day of work or keeping up with the kids. It was getting close to dinner time, so I'm sure they were running to the store for those last minute items they needed to prepare dinner.

I can probably come up with a dozen more excuses of why these two moms were probably tired, irritated, and just couldn't take it any longer. But should those excuses matter?

As a mom I am entrusted with the greatest gift and responsibility that God will ever give and ask of me - to take care of Laura as He would. And it definitely has been challenging. I know I'm not perfect by any stretch, but if I can use all my strength to extend patience, understanding and forgiveness then I think everything will be a little bit easier and more peaceful for all of us.

What good can come of harsh words? And it is in the times when we are most tired, frustrated and exasperated that we must refrain from reacting without thinking.

The harsh words that I overheard from the two moms today made an impression on me that I will not forget, unfortunately neither will their kids.

A few pictures from Rose Hill

The small pictures I took with my phone while we were out exploring the land around Rose Hill in Lexington. Hopefully you'll still be able to see how wonderful this place is. We probably won't stay anywhere else now - this place spoiled us!

Charles Mitchell McGuffey, Esquire

Congratulations Mitch! He graduated from UVA Law School on Sunday. (the reason for our trip to VA)
All the Faulks made it up to celebrate with Mitch and Amanda.
Charlottesville and UVA are great places to visit. We all had a great time. And Mitch and Amanda were great hosts. We attended a party at the law school, a cookout at their apartment in Crozet (just outside of C'ville), bbq and a wine tasting at a vineyard and of course shopping downtown on the mall.

We look forward to visiting them in NYC next time!

Home Sweet Home

Lexington was fabulous. Oh, so fabulous. Sometimes it feels almost surreal that I lived there for four years. We hit up a few of the old stomping grounds, mainly surrounding food. It's amazing how a pizza isn't just a pizza when it sustained your eating habits for so long.

We did the campus tour with a freshman who had the glazed look in her eyes that I once had when I was so in love with W&L, Lexington, and life in college. My parents used to take bets when I would come home to visit. How long would I last before making the comment that I missed Lex?? I forget who won, but it was usually less than 24 hours!

We walked down Main Street and visited some of my favorite shops. There were a few new ones that had replaced the ones I never went into.

Merchandise was purchased at the book store only this time I couldn't swipe it home.

Lexington is such a unique town. Picturesque. Quaint. Beautiful. There are so many adjectives that could describe it perfectly. Lexington may not be home anymore, but it certainly holds a warm, cozy spot in my heart that feels like home when we return.

Beautiful Rose Hill

We are in VA!! We drove to Charlotte on Wednesday and made the rest of the trip yesterday morning. We are staying at Rose Hill just outside of Lexington. We found this gem of a home on homeaway.com, which we learned about in a Super Bowl commercial, so I guess it is worth watching just for the commercial breaks :)

Rose Hill home is 190 years old. The pecan tree that sits out back is over 200 years old. The home has 370 acres of rolling hills and cattle surrounding it. There is a cemetery on one hill that dates back to 1850. The log smokehouse that sits in the backyard remains in tact and has all the original logs. Kyle went for a walk yesterday and came up on 4 deer grazing. When pulling into the mile long driveway yesterday we immediately came up on a turkey. This is the first time I've seen one in person. And she had about 20 babies running around her. The babies are called Poults - we learned thanks to google. The sunroom, where I sit now, stretches across the entire length of the house. Everything is beautiful.

The dream home that Grant and I are building in our minds has just taken on some new designs inspired by Rose Hill.

'Get a Life'

Dad's article this week as seniors everywhere are graduating and looking ahead for their next step in life. Enjoy!

http://www.thepostsearchlight.com/news/2010/may/18/get-life/

New Painting Project

We are ready for our next painting project at the house. And the best part about it is that it will be accomplished while we're on vacation!

We are painting - I guess I shouldn't say we - Willie and his guys are going to paint the playroom and dining room. That will leave the hallway and my office left with the awful beige that was on everything when we moved in to this house almost three years ago.

The first two pictures are of the dining room. Don't mind the mess - we don't.

And here are some before pictures of the playroom. The lovely valences were left in the house and we haven't changed them out. I have a feeling they'll be down pretty soon though.

The plan - soft yellow for the dining room, which will match the kitchen. And primary colors in the playroom. A red wall. A yellow wall. A blue wall. And a white wall with polka dots in red, yellow and blue. I'm super excited!

Now we'll have targets to throw at with LB's little toy balls!!

I'll upload the after pictures next week. I'm so happy to rid this house of some more beige, ugh.

Geez Louise

Grant suggested I explain the name of the blog...Geez Louise. The short of it is Louise is my middle name.

Growing up I never really was fond of it. And when we got married I was truly happy to drop it and replace with Ponder in the middle. However, lately I have really grown to like it more and more. Regardless of like or dislike we have always said Geez Louise with life's funny moments. And since that is my name a little smirk usually followed.

Sometimes it is the only appropriate thing to say.

Headed back to VA

We are headed back to the beautiful Lex Vegas this week and I am super excited!! The last time we were there was just after we got married, so three years ago!

The main highlight of the trip is in Charlottesville (just down the road from Lexington). Mitch is graduating from UVA law. Go Mitch! He and Amanda are then moving to NYC this fall. Another great place to go visit.

Grant and I decided that we couldn't go to UVA, just an hour away, and not visit Lex.

This will be LB's first visit. And what a perfect time to go! The spring was one of my favorite times in school. Usually just one class for six weeks with perfect weather - some of my favorite memories are from those spring terms.

Spring term my senior year Brittany (my freshman year roommate and best friend) and I made a list of all the things we had never done but wanted to do before our 4 years were up. It was a great list. We visited Natural Bridge, taking a picnic lunch with us, only to get to the bottom of it and say - that's it?? We went on a safari - pretty amazing to have a safari only a few minutes from campus! It was maybe the highlight from the list. You drive through this farm basically and you can buy a bucket of food to feed the animals from your car. I drove and Brittany had the food. Well, along comes a zebra. And these animals are very people friendly and know what you have in the bucket. First, Brittany feeds a little out of her hand, but the zebra was hungry. So, she gives it some more. Still not enough. Before we know it the zebra's entire head is in the car going after the bucket of food. I was laughing so hard I couldn't do anything to help out poor Brittany. After that we rolled up our windows!

But quite possibly the best time Spring term that year was every Friday night we had dinner at my apartment. There were six regulars - Anne, Brittany, Marie, Leila, Kristine and myself - and off and on we had some guests, but always the six of us. We always cooked a new recipe. We may have gone out afterwards or ended up at the Palms across the street. But it didn't matter what the plans were later on that night, everyone started out together for dinner and a great time. Each of these girls were in my wedding. Their hometowns span from just up the road from Lex in Staunton to DC, Philadelphia and Indianapolis and Buenos Aires. These girls are amazing and such a blessing in my life.

I know being back in Lexington this week will bring back so many of these great memories. I look forward to each and every one of them.

A Squirrel, A Turtle and A Snake

We had a very interesting morning. Up before the sun, per usual. 6:30 am and LB is already down for a nap. Nice. I'm working away. About 7:15 there is a loud BOOM and my screen goes black. NO!! I look out the window towards where I heard the boom. And from the utility pole I see a squirrel fall to the ground - dead. Apparently it had the munchies early this morning and got a little more than it could chew! So of course LB wakes up - nice. And of course Grant is out of town. One of the few mornings he can sleep in and I'm calling him at 7:15 - what do I do?? About 15 minutes later the City utility people pull up to fix the problem. And I learn that this is the third squirrel encounter they've had this morning! And its barely 7:30 in the morning! Wow. I had no idea. Apparently this is when the squirrels go after the power lines the most - who knew?!?

So we're all up. Nap cut short. We hop in the car and head over to Westgate for a walk. I was trying to beat the heat, but it was still pretty hot. The trail weaves in and out of woods and around ball fields, etc. Along the side of the path we see a turtle. It was probably the size of my hand. We didn't touch it. It just sat there as we rolled on by. And as we're passing I think - you know, I remember my mother-in-law telling me about walking on the trail and encountering a snake. Wouldn't you know - 100 feet later - there's a snake. It was probably a good 4-footer. Grey and black - is that poisonous? I have no clue. I just treat them all like their poisonous. I figure I'm safest that way. So, there I am with LB in the jogger and I'm frozen. There is about 2 feet behind the snake - can I sneak around? Should I turn around? There is no one around. And the snake is just there, doing nothing. While I go round and round in my head about what to do, the snake finally decides to move along. Once it got off the trail we scooted on by and didn't look back.

Whew. I'm glad we haven't had anymore animal encounters today.

Exploring the Backyard and Pots

Laura has almost complete free reign outside now - or at least she probably feels like she does. Pine cones, pine tree worms (if you live in the South you know what I'm talking about) pinestraw, leaves, dirt...you name it and she's probably tasted it. Here are a few pictures from when she first discovered our pots.

The WOW Factor

I just came from a lunch where the speaker is a professor and maybe the department head (not sure) of the hotel and restaurant management department at Auburn. He's from Northern Ireland. Has lived in Australia. And ended up in Auburn, AL. Sounds like a pretty neat guy, right?

Well, during his talk he mentions that he spends approximately three hours (3 hours!) a day analyzing hospitality. It is what he does after all. Hospitality is everything in his line of work. And he believes that with great hospitality and service first, then everything else will take care of itself including your bottom line. But what caught my attention the most was that he said he looks for the WOW factor, whether he is getting a tooth pulled, grabbing some lunch or even going to church - it is the WOW factor that will impact him personally.

So, it got me thinking. Can't we create that WOW factor in everything we do! Whether its playing with Laura, working with my managers or handing out starbursts to the kids at church - I think the WOW can come from anywhere and on both sides of the fence. It doesn't have to be solely from the person serving others. I can create WOW factors all the time. It may take some creativity, but hey won't it make life a bit more fun.

WOW - Working On Wowing

I just made that up :)

My 1st Mother's Day

Mother's Day was great, but a lot of work and semi-stressful with Laura's baby dedication that morning and having 15 people over for lunch afterwards. It was still special and I will remember it always, but I don't think I could do it justice with all the emotions surrounding the day. So, here is a link to Dad's article for this week, taken from the Bainbridge Post Searchlight. It's a look at our Mother's Day through a grandaddy's eyes.

http://www.thepostsearchlight.com/news/2010/may/11/happy-mothers-day/

My First Post

Wow - so I just created a blog. Just like that in about 10 minutes I'm up and running. And what can I say, my mind is blank!

This is my first attempt at anything like this. I'm not sure where it's headed. So for now, I'm just along for the ride.