I'm thankful for broken glasses.

I got in the car today and discovered that my $6 "Prada" Baroque sunglasses were broken on one side.  They were lying neatly in the cup holder with the broken arm folded beneath, but the missing screw was nowhere to be seen!  How did that happen?

I bought these back when I dressed like Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly last Halloween.  I was bummed that I couldn't fix them (at least not right now), but I HAVE to wear sunglasses when I am driving.  I mean, even if it is cloudy, I put them on.  There have been some NIGHTS that I've put them on because I left my eyeglasses at home and feel naked without them on my face.

So I put them on, and they worked.  I did get a bit embarrassed when I was in the right lane and stopped at a light or sign because I didn't want anyone to see my funny glasses.  But now I have a monocle-type thing.  Or whatever you call a two-glassed one-armed...thing.  So that's cool, right?  Riiiiight.

So I'm thankful they are working still...until I can order some new ones.  And I'm thankful that I got a good chuckle out of wearing them with one arm.  :)

And I just realized that all of my sidebar labels disappeared, I guess when I moved them to a new album in Photobucket.  I guess they will be going back into my library.  I wonder if that will fix them?  *lol*  Oh, HTML...  I'm thankful I have time tomorrow to figure that biz out!

Greek Is Greek? The "Tri Omicrons"

Today, I'm linking up with Kelly at Messy Dirty Hair to tell you about my "Greek" days! Why is "Greek" in quotation marks like that? Well.... I wasn't exactly Greek, but I was in a "sorority." Meet Erin, Emily, and Rose.  (Erin is also my cousin!)

Yep, we are that classy and sophisticated. Okay, these are a bit more normal:

We were roommates my junior and senior years in college.  None of us knew Emily; she just signed up for our apartment because there was a free space in it.  Rose went to high school with Erin and me and was in band with Erin, too.  We did find out that Emily's boyfriend was in choir and in Nick's (Erin's boyfriend) music frat (Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia).  And thus we bonded quickly.  One of our first weeks together, we did a craft night and decorated canvases with our names to put on the wall.  But this was before my digital camera and the smartphone-era, so I don't have photos of that.  :(  I do remember I almost wrecked driving us home from Walmart and thought I had scarred Emily for life!

We had movie nights, made up games (like "Fun," which is what you see with the streamers), and cooked and baked together.

With our first Halloween together, we started a tradition:

Yes.  I went as a pregnant homecoming queen one year.

Because we started spending a lot of time together, it meant that we spent a lot of time with Nick and Philip and their Phi Mu Alpha friends.  After a while, we got sick of hearing about their fraternity stuff all of the time, so we decided to start our own sorority.

with the guys

And the Omicron Omicron Omicrons were born!

This is us throwing up our sign.

Yes, I know it can be seen as something kind of sexual.  That's half the fun.  ;)

(We first thought we were the Tri Omegas, but Nick clarified that the "O" is not the Omega sign.  *lol*  Apparently, we didn't pay much attention in church or in history class!)

We've been Tri O's through illnesses, vacations, weddings, birthdays, babies, and holidays.  After all, O's are never-ending. ;)

Be sure to say hello if you are a Greek (or non-Greek) popping in!

What I Wrote Wednesday

Last week, I sent a little card to my cousin Erin, who is pregnant and on bed rest.

You can see a bit of the card through the envelope.  It is from a set Zach got for me on our first wedding anniversary (paper) with my name and a bird image.  (He used my maiden name and initial as that is what he calls me.  My first name and maiden name go together very well and are usually said in one run-on breath!)  He also got me a wax stamp, which I used, but as you can see, I dribbled a bit of the wax!

Today marks the 29th day of bed rest, and little Keegan Michael has made it to 37 weeks (technically, full term)!  So my newest second cousin should be arriving any day now.  I can't wait to see Erin and her husband Nick meet their son and grow as parents, and I can't wait to love on that baby.  :)

Erin and Nick have been together since we were in high school and went to the UCA together, where Erin and I were roommates for two years, our roomies helped Nick put together his proposal, and we were all in their wedding, etc. etc. etc.  (Nick proposed on the football field after the homecoming game, and then they got married in front of the school fountain.)  In short, we (Erin, Nick, our roommates, and I) have a long history together.  My cousin was probably my first friend as our dads lived in the same town when we were small, so we were just blocks from each other for a few years.  And after my parents divorced and we moved to another town nearby, Erin and I ended up at the same middle school through high school.

I'm so thankful for my cousin and for all our memories.  And I can't wait to have many more, starting with Mr. Keegan!

Erin and I as babies

We are about six months apart.

I hope you aren't afraid of clowns!  Also, I'm pretty sure the kid in the back went to high school and college with us...

 Maybe we were running away together?  I suspect we were about five or so here.

Easter 98?

We were in middle school/junior high and ever so awkward.

my high school graduation in 2003

Since Erin is six months younger, she just missed the cut-off date and started school a year later.  We were getting slightly less awkward here.

NYE 2006-2007

 This is with our roommate Emily in 2007.  Our other roommate Rose had to have emergency surgery to have her appendix removed and ended up having to withdraw before the spring semester was over.  We took silly pictures with chalk messages on the sidewalk next to our apartment and put together an album for her.  This was the year we started living together and began our "sorority," the Omicron Omicron Omicrons.  That's why we are attempting to make the "O" face.  ;)

celebrating Emily and Erin's birthdays in November 2007

my college graduation in 2008

Erin's bachelorette party in May 2008

 

Erin and Nick's wedding on May 31, 2008

Phillip (Nick's fraternity brother) and Emily's wedding on May 23, 2009

 my wedding on September 19, 2009

 my reception on December 20, 2009

 with Kristen, Erin's sister, at our family reunion (September 2010)

Erin's favorite holiday is Halloween, and as her birthday falls shortly after, she and Nick usually host a Halloween party.  This year, they did a murder mystery.  Rose went as a Hollywood glamour gal, I was a peacock, and Erin was a western can-can girl.  We had so much fun trying to capture a photo of our Omicron faces!  (I posted more of our Halloween adventures last year.)

 at the baby shower Erin threw for Kristen to welcome baby Zachary (June 2011)

at Erin's baby shower thrown by Rose and two other friends (December 1, 2012)

I love you, cuz-cuz!!

Photo a Day in November #14

14.  Man-Made

A few weeks ago, I changed my Halloween banner to a Thanksgiving one.  The banner is made by me with materials made by machines, I'm assuming.  Even I used a  hole punch to thread the ribbon through.  But it will work...and I don't know where my husband put my knitting bag, so I can't show you my nicely knitted stocking for him.  :)

Photo a Day in November #1

Yep, that's right!  I decided to do this Daily Photo Challenge again.  :)

1.  Something Beginning with "C"

How about COOKIES?  Halloween cookies to be exact.  :)  I made these using the leftover cookie dough from our fondue party.  There are ghosts, pumpkins, and bats.  I didn't have any black gel, so I frosted the bats white and added Halloween sprinkles and black sugar to bring them to life.  The ghosts are obviously white, and I added brown eyes and scary/surprised mouths; the pumpkins were iced in orange with brown stems, and I added some sprinkles to a few of them.  I put together this "You've Been Boo'ed" bag for our landlords/neighbors to thank them for everything they have done for us and for how kind they always are.  I missed them last night, so I gave them the cookies this evening, and Mr. Tony and I had a nice chat about Halloween and how we didn't get any trick-or-treaters and how my health is these days.  (Great report from the doctor last week!)  They are such sweet folks.  And sweet folks deserve something sweet!

Have a...

counterclockwise from the large photo in the upper righthand corner:

Pregnant UCA Homecoming Queen (with my roomies) in 2006

a Pretty Woman (with my roomies) in 2007

a Flapper (with Zach) in 2008

Ms. Lovett from Sweeney Todd (with Zach) 2009

a Peacock (with my former roomies) in 2010

a Masked Lady (with Zach) in 2011

Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's in 2012

in orange and black (with Dinah the Witch Cat) today

I considered dressing up today for work (we could dress up or wear jeans today if we donated $2 to our United Way drive ;), but I didn't feel like shaving my legs and had no leggings.  *hehe*  So I just wore orange and black and enjoyed everyone else's costumes.  :)  Then I came home and put Dinah in her witch hat.

You Goblins and Ghosties and Witches and Warlocks stay safe out there!  We are handing out candy--I put on a long black bridesmaid dress with my "Masked Lady" mask--and are eagerly awaiting our first group of Trick-or-Treaters!