Please note:

Those resolutions that I made last year are still in effect.

That is all.

Stream of Consciousness: Dec

I've been super all-over-the-place lately. Is it obvious?? Soo this will be extra random.

It's so crazy that tomorrow is New Year's Eve already...

I am so so sick of snow. What can be good about anything cold and wet?? Someday I'll move somewhere where it never ever snows, and I'll never ever miss it. I just wasn't meant to live in a cold climate.

Jocee and Sophie have LOVED it this year though. I need to post about that. They are the cutest. Sometimes I wish they'd never grow up. I'm so lucky to be their mom. :) In my limited mommy experience, I've decided that 3 1/2 is my favorite age.

An old friend from high school emailed me today and took credit for that drawing I posted earlier! We still don't remember who The Kid was. But we decided that she drew it during 10th grade English class. I had braces then... Oh, and he had to be in a different grade too. But that's all we got!

I think it's funny how one of my best friends and I weren't even friends in high school. We had a lot of the same classes, and some of the same friends. But coincidentally we probably never said two words to each other. I have this one memory of her telling our 10th grade Biology teacher that her then boyfriend was going to make a six-figure salary once he got his Bachelor's. I thought to myself, "That girl is so not going to be with that guy by then. And he could totally change his major and do something else..." Ha! I have no idea what he does now, but I'm pretty sure I was right.
Love her! She deserves her own post!

I watched "Maid in Manhattan" tonight and cringed the whole time! I still can't believe Ben sat through that. I can't believe I sat through that, or even invited him to watch it with us. I must have looked really cute that night, or something... It makes me happy that, the post gets the most hits. It was the start of a lot of good things. :)

Oh, Christmas wasn't as awful as I thought it would be... I think of how and where I was this time last year, and I shutter. I'm grateful to be one year removed from it.

And really... I know I post about this a lot, but Ben is still the sweetest. I don't care how skeptical most people can be. Those little reminders I always get made December better.


That is all for now.

xo

Christmas '10

Happy Christmas to all!
And to all, a good night!!

Love,
The Hill girls

We're a coordinated bunch...
xo

Something you didn't know

...until now. :)

When Ben and I watched TV at night, I gave him full control of the remote (>90% of the time). This never bugged me. More often than not he'd choose something on Comedy Central or History channel.

But that's not the thing!

Every once in a great while he'd choose to watch one of my shows with me... I started noticing that this happened at the same time every week (or whenever there was a marathon). AND that it only happened with one show.



He acted like he was being nice, but I knew he liked it!! I even caught him watching it without me a few times. I'm certain that we watched every season and episode while he was here.

So...there's a marathon on today and I couldn't be happier! Who needs A Christmas Story when you have Home Sweet Hollywood?? As I watched it, I realized how similar T. & D.'s dynamic is to how we were. And I see why Ben liked it so much.

I'm sure he'd never openly admit to it. But now you know!
:)

Time out!

She takes it seriously.

Love my Monkey!

It's Official

...and a little bittersweet.
A moment of silence is requested.

:)

Before there was Ben...

...there was, The Kid.


Here's the deal... There's this FB fan page for my 10 year high school reunion. It'll be sometime next year. This eerie realization is making me feel nostalgic (and old!). I was a total dork back then. Bangs, braces, Dr. Martins, sweater vests... Cringe. (For the record, that was just freshman and sophomore year, but still bad!)

So... Here I am! Living with my parents... Every once in a while I find something ancient that they've hung onto.

These trips down memory lane can be fun, but I cannot for the life of me remember where this was from. I can't remember who would have drawn this lovely...diagram (definitely not me). And why did I keep it? Why did my parents keep it?? This had to be a joke.

I'm guessing it was from freshman or sophomore year of high school. By junior year I had given up on those tacky uniform sweater vests, and boys that went to the same school.

Maybe this boy wore a black hat...and a CC sweater vest... He was obviously a big enough deal for me to talk about, and for someone else to draw a picture of. And then for me to keep it as a memento... Awkward!

Anyway! If anyone reading this is from high school and remembers "The Kid" please remind me! I have not a clue. And if you drew this masterpiece, take credit! You know you want to own this. ;)

The Truth

Camping, summer '04

• We had only hiked a half mile at this point.
• Ben was carrying 90% of everything.
• My pack was actually very light.
• I was saying something to the extent of, "Oh my gosh. It's hot. I'm sweating! So gross."
  

London

Ben never really cared for holidays. It was one of his quirks that could really bug me. He usually forgot my birthday. He totally spaced our third wedding anniversary. So, the holiday season was no exception. (He blamed it on a mental block brought on by traumatic childhood memories. But those are not mine to share.)

Anyway! When it came to Christmas I always had to remind him, and tell him exactly what I wanted. For Christmas 2005, I wanted him to pick out a new perfume for me to wear. I had been wearing the same scent for a while. I gave him a list of three different options to smell.

Two weeks before Christmas he got it. He told me as soon as he picked me up from work. I could tell that he was proud of himself, and excited to give it to me. He told me all about how he boldly went into the department store, and carefully smelled almost all of the available scents. He had spent almost two hours before he found the perfect one. According to him, it was better than any of the perfumes I had thought of.

He had taken this assignment more seriously than I wanted him to. His heart was set on me loving what he chose.

I was completely willing to wait the two weeks so that I could open it on Christmas morning. BUT he was so excited that he gave it to me that night.

It was still in the shopping bag when he handed it to me. I had never heard of the brand or perfume before.

As soon as I sprayed it on my wrists....my eyes teared up. And not from emotion... It was overpoweringly strong, and stung my nose. The stuff smelled awful.

I looked up and saw him smiling, eager for a positive reaction. I had to lie.

Holding back my gag reflex...
I told him I loved it.

That next morning I reluctantly decided to wear it to work. I was relieved that no one said anything negative about how I smelled... (But they didn't say anything positive either!)

I told a few close friends the story behind it. They all told me how I needed be honest with Ben and I tell him how much I hated it. I saw their point. And it was valid.

But I never could bring myself to do it.



I still have it. The bottle is old, scratched, and half empty.
Every once in a great while, I'll spray my wrists. My nose will sting all over again. I'll still dislike what I'm smelling. But the thought of that sweet man braving the beauty department...for two hours...melts my heart every single time.

I love him.

Why I love T. Thorpe

Since she gets so much honorable mention on the blog, I figured I'd elaborate. Here are some reasons why this girl is one of my best friends...
:)

• Even though we went over three years with no contact, as soon as I needed her, she was there. And we picked up right where we left off. (Oh, about that... It's a funny story! I'll just say, it's a good thing that we won't ever be getting pregnant at the same time again!)

• We've been known to talk on the phone for 8 hours, straight. Usually about a lot of nothing, and laughing almost the whole time!

• Whenever we get together we laugh. Hard. I'm pretty sure neither of us are that funny, but we definitely think we are!

• She insisted that I compile a list of qualities to look for in Mr. OkayForRIGHTnow. It's a very competitive position. She has the list somewhere. Applicants need not apply for another....9 years! :)
  

• When it comes to constructive criticism, we are brutally honest. Most people could easily take offense. Ha! We call it love.

• We totally get each other. I'm so used to having to explain myself to people. So I'll preface statements with a phrase like, "This may sound weird to you, but..." Without fail her response is always, "Okay. How is that weird??" Love it!

• We discuss and study quirky topics ad nauseum. Think moon cycles, Feng Shui, numbers, shopping deals... Nothing is ever too weird for us!
  

• Even though I never got to meet her mom, I know she likes me. :)

• Our kids are the same ages. As soon as they met, they adored each other. Play dates are super easy. And when they can't play together, they talk about each other constantly.

• Old movies and soy ice cream.

• Peacocks and fluffy chickens.

• Even her hubby totally gets it. He says she's the Cristina and I'm the Meredith! Haha! (I've never seen Grey's, so...yeah!)

In short: I stinkin' love this girl, and I'm so lucky to have her in my life!


And especially for this long.
:)

Ginny is Currently....

...feeling slightly gluttonous.
...and scatterbrained too! :)
...grateful for the family and sweet friends who put up with her!
...certain that she is the mommy of two of the funniest people alive!
...wishing she lived in a warmer climate!
...wondering why she gave up on hot chocolate for so long.
...so glad she got a GPS! haha
...anticipating an upcoming UT trip.
...missing Ginger's Garden Cafe.
...almost done with Christmas shopping.
...thinking colored lights on the tree are soo tacky.
...can't believe how much the girls have grown in one year.
...thinking her toes could use a fresh coat or two of magenta.
...having too many blonde moments.
...listening to the same song on repeat.
...needing to do laundry instead.
...remembering the sweeter things.
...looking forward to 2011.

And ALWAYS...
...loving her babies.
...grateful for sweet memories.
...wishing he was here.

Dear Universe...

Just putting it out there!!

xo