Funeral songs...

Mr. Chad-Freebird by Lynyrd Skynyrd
C2-Time of Your Life by Green Day

JD-Go Rest High on that Mountain by Vince Gill

Mr. Clay-Prop me up by the Jukebox when I Die by Joe Diffie

Cassidy-Damaged by Danity Kane (yes, Danity Kane...she is 9.)

Funeral songs have long been a topic of conversation between my "french fry" and I...not sure when and how it came up, but it did, and has remained a topic that stays on our radar. In fact, it has spread to those around us, young and old(er)...LOL.

True, I see each of these songs exactly for these particular people, including Cassidy's (which I will go into later). It would only be appropriate for my dear, sweet husband to have Lynyrd Skynyrd singing the words, "Bye, bye, its been a sweet love. Though this feeling I can't change. But please don't take it badly, 'Cause Lord knows I'm to blame." I almost tear up typing it and when the guitar riff kicks in and you can here the word "cha---yyyayyy...yyyaaaayyyy....nge" reverbing in your mind...ahhh I can see it all...and I can see it just as HE wants it.

C2's is a little different. I think I am suppose to play it on the guitar and sing it...LOL. Funny story here, I do NOT play or sing currently...LOL. I figure if I keep putting off "learning how to" do either, then she can't die yet...LOL...and that's a good thing! However, her Uncle Ernest's funeral could have been the start of this whole thing, not really...most of the credit has to go to Seinfeld...but Ernest had him some Keith Whitley tunes cranked out at the funeral home and it was flat out awesome...well, as awesome as a funeral can be. *side note-family popped open an ice chest full of beer and drank to Ernest 100 feet from his grave...Mr. Chad now has a new vision for his burial day...LOL.

This one is good, too. Mary and I were driving one day and somehow funeral songs came up and she said JD wanted some dorky song that Vince Gill wrote for his brother that committed suicide,(after googling, turns out he started writing it after Keith Whitley's death and later finished it after his brother's) and before she could say the name of it...I knew it. I did not know the story behind it, but my goodness, it is one of the most perfect funeral songs ever written..."Go rest high on that mountain--Son, you work on earth is done--Go to heaven a shoutin'--Love for the Father and the Son." Rarely, do I think Mary is wrong, but on this, I am 100% behind JD.

I would like to think that this song was a joke...but you have to know Mr. Clay to understand that he probably said, in jest, that this was to be his funeral song, but if you know Mr. Clay then you also know how perfect this song is for him. "Just let my headstone be a neon sign/Let it burn in mem'ry of all of my good times/Fix me up with a mannequin, just remember I like blondes/I'll be the life of the party even when I'm dead and gone." I can almost see all of us caroling along with Joe Diffie in remembrance of him, maybe even toasting him with a Red Bull and Vodka.

I'll close with Cassidy's thoughts on her funeral song. She heard us talking one day and said that she wanted Danity Kane's Damaged, as hers...I thought I would crack up, but then I listened to her logic and smiled sweetly instead... "Ms. Christy, it talks about a hole in your heart and how are you going to fix it?...if you are dead then your heart can't be fixed"...so true, Cass-erole...so thought provoking and deep for a 9 year old...LOL...

"Do, Do you got a first aid kit handy?-- Do, Do you know how to patch up a wound? --Tell me,-- Are Are Are Are you,-- Are you patient, Understanding? --Cuz I might need some time to clear the hole in my heart ... ... ... Damaged, Damaged Damaged, Damaged--I thought that I should let you know --That my heart is Damaged, Damaged So Damaged, (So Damaged) --And you can blame the one before...So how you gonna fix it, fix it, fix it?"

Hey, Cass...it is kind of catchy...and very literal...LOL.

Kinda deep today, huh?

Mrs. B

The summer of the Green Bean.

I know, sounds like a "teenage" novel title, and although it is not, it well could describe an important part of my summer with my teenager and my 9 year old...I can't use some analogy to compare our summer together and a green bean, but green beans were very important to our summer.

For some reason, my girls fell in love with green beans. Literally, post wedding, Catarina and Claudia must have eaten a bushel while here...LOL.

This may not be ground breaking information, but it was perfect in capturing the innocence of youth. While Mr. Chad and I ran around trying to move things from one house to another, meet with electricians and plumbers, and me trying to find a job,...it was wonderful to discover the sweet and renewing sense of the importance of good food...of how food grown in a neighbor's backyard played a part in the development of my children's palette and served as a reminder to me that the simple life can be a very rewarding one. Never have I enjoyed a vegetable as much as I enjoyed the green bean in the summer of 2008...LOL. Isn't that just too funny?

This summer has now inspired me to think ahead to next summer. My little garden with Mr. Chad flourished this year, but we only grew one item...tommy-toes...OK, strawberries did fail, but we expected that...and the "indoor" blueberry is still trying to decide what the heck it plans to do...Pumpkins, however, are definitely on my list to add to any garden that I may attempt...LOL.

Anyway, I think the best way to pull it all together is to let the girls help with the gardening...I planned on attempting that this year, but time flew by too fast to get it all done...I guess now, I can plan and prepare and hope next year...for a garden full of green beans and more memories to last a life time...

Farmer Boyd's wife,
CbB

Guilty Pleasures

Tori and Dean, Sharpies, and Circus Peanuts candy. Yes, I love all three of them.

I have loved Tori Spelling since the 90210 days. I didn't love her as Donna Martin. I loved her as a little, lost, rich girl who could not step out of the shadow of her father. Now, that she has been married and divorced, and then married again to her true love, had 2 beautiful children, and buying a house that is not the size of a football field...one can start to see how normally average she wants to be. Watching them on television, you see how down to earth she is and Dean is just what she needed to come into her own. I love how she can make fun of herself these days, how finding the right preschool for her son is just as nerve-wrecking for her as it is for any average person, and how she tries so hard to stand on her own 2 feet. I, also, empathize with her in regards to her relationship with her mother...I know her issues and I feel her pain...LOL.

Sharpies...God's gift to the doodler. Permanent , ultra fine, black is my favorite, but there are so many in second place. First, there is the highlighter. I mean, does anyone else even make highlighters? Second, Sharpie minis are super cool and you can keep them handy everywhere...in your purse, hanging from your rear view, hooked to your backpack, and so on...I love buying these for my girls. Third, the invention of the retractable Sharpie, quite possibly compares to the invention of sliced bread...LOL.

Last is my simple obsession with Circus Peanuts candy. You know, the orange ones that come in little plastic bags, normally at a convenient store, and sold at a whopping price of 2 for a $1. You can usually find them surrounded by Maple Nut Goodies, Boston Baked Beans, and Pop Bottles filled with sugar water. I love this candy. I could, wait can, eat 25-30 of these at one setting, but I limit myself to purchasing these on rare occasions, so not to turn into, pardon the pun, and elephant...LOL. I just wish they came in other colors.

To close, there is one other guilty pleasure I want to write about, but it is not merely my own...it's mine and my husband's...cartoons/animation. We love everything from Family Guy and American Dad to Lil' Bush, Squidbillies, and Lilo & Stitch. I think I wrote about this before, just had to reiterate when talking about guilty pleasures...LOL.

What is your guilty pleasure? I have a few others, too...LOL...just can't give away everything...have to leave a bit of mystery about me.

:o)

2 weeks...14.5 pounds.

I weighed myself a few weeks ago at mt cousin V's and almost collapsed in grossness...LOL. The big joke about her scales is, no matter how much I weigh...her scales ALWAYS say 180. Last summer at 155-158...it said 180. A few years ago, when I was 175...it still said 180, but on this occasion, let's just say I wish it had said 180. I saw it going towards the big 200 and jumped back off the scales. After the dizziness wore off, I stepped back on and was right between 198/199. I was so embarrassed. I have NEVER weighed that much in my life except when I was incubating my 2 baby aliens. (Claudia put me at 206/207 the day before delivery and Catarina put me at 199.)

I felt sick for 20 minutes, even V weighed less than me...and that's a great feat b/c she NEVER has...well, maybe that time she was in the hospital and almost died, but that doesn't really factor into this equation.

Later that day when I was sitting on the swing with my father-in-law, who had went to the doctor earlier that day, I was complaining about my weight and he said that he had weighed 197 that day...I had to hold back the puke that was starting to arise in my throat. And still, it gets worse. My husband had his truck parked in the yard with the tailgate down and my father-in-law was sitting on it...i went to sit down beside him and one of the straps on the tailgate snapped...I just put my head down and came to my room and cried...LOL.

...and then I started Atkins the next morning.

Two weeks later, I am 14.5 lighter...WOW. Now, that's the Atkins I know and love.

It was hard, though...lots of egg salad, chicken, and ham slices...LOL.
...the end justifies the means, right?....not really, I miss you bread...LOL.

:o)
me

Dear MAT, I love you.

So, I started my Master's at Morehead State University and I am very excited. The orientation motivated me beyond anything I was expecting. However, I also, was not expecting there to be 110 of us, but that's OK...LOL. I held my own.

The great thing about this program is that you can only be in it, IF you do not have education as an undergraduate degree. It appears that many of my co-workers want to teach social studies or P.E. I plan, I hope, on teaching Middle School Math and Language Arts and later getting certified to teach high school Math.

My cousin, Karen, is kinda my inspiration. She is very smart and knows her stuff...but we are different in the fact that I like to be fun and get things done, and she likes to get things done...whether anyone has fun or not...LOL. (School is not the Carnival.) She doesn't have to be any one's fave teacher as long as at the end of the day, they can multiple, divide, and work well with fractions...LOL. I settle for 2 out of 3...LOL.

I recently had my first "real" interview and I thought it went "real" well...in fact, they told me it went "real" well...I was pleased, but totally understand that someone already certified will be hired first, and that I am a last resort...and the MAT program told us that would happen. I am not insulted at all.

However, I will persevere and learn more and more each day about education, core curriculums, and whatever is required to be the best teacher I can be.

****Thank you, Miss Cook (Kindergarten), Mrs. Honeycutt (1st grade), Mrs. Mullins (2nd grade), Mrs. Johnson (3rd grade), Mrs. R. Hall (4th grade), Mrs. Mullins, again (5th grade), Mrs. Crisp (6th grade), Mr. D. Hall, Mr. Anderson, and Mr. B. D. Hall (7th grade), Mr. Sode (8th grade), Mr. Duncan (8th grade), Mrs. Balkcom (8th grade), Mr. J. Hall (8th grade), Mr. Gibson (8th grade), Mrs. Duncan (8th grade)...and so on.

Oh Happy Day!

me :o)

The Wedding Planner

Who's getting married that I can offer my services? I am sooo in the mood to plan another wedding. Jennifer Love is getting married and I would offer my services for free, provided she flew me back and forth to sunny California. My friend E-beth wants me to plan hers--one problem, though...she needs a groom first (and she is actively looking, so I'm really proud of her for that...LOL) There's my friend, Kayla, too. I could do some fun, original things with her "special" day, but oh yeah...she's NOW in the same boat as E-beth...LOL.

Being a wedding planner is my dream job. (I gave up wanting to be a "movie" actress years, ago...Now, I just want to plan their weddings...LOL.)

Don't get me wrong, I love planning parties, but there is nothing like a wedding. Birthday parties are sweet. Holiday parties are festive. Baby Showers are precious, but weddings, weddings are enchanting. I have loved weddings since I was a kid. All my little girlfriends had the chance to be flowergirls, but I never had that opportunity...and I have only been a bridesmaid twice, but that will change...I think I'm going to advertise that I will gladly fill that position for any of my friends or family...LOL.

I think, with weddings, all seems right with the world on that glorious day. Wars, famines, and diseases seem not to exist and everyone can pretend that nothing matters but that moment...that moment in time set aside for you and the love of your life.


Mrs. New Bride,
me :o)

No Plans on Lottery Win

I have no plans on winning the lottery...I mean not by picking numbers and hitting some, mega-moolah jackpot. I have no plans on winning b/c I have 4 or 5...OK, maybe 45 friends that plan on winning, too. Instead, I plan on inventing something that makes me a millionaire. Now, I am no inventor. I do not sit around trying to come up with some cockamamie idea, day after day. I just know it will come to me and I will know it when it does...for instance, I watched the story on this a few years back and it has NEVER left my mind:

The Spin Pop was the brainchild of two postal workers, Tom Coleman and Bill Schlotter, living in a mobile home park in Virginia. The two men had been friends since 1965, and had tried several other ideas before conceiving the idea of a novelty candy on Halloween 1987. The idea was to make a glow-in-the-dark candy. What emerged was Glow Pops, a cylindrical pop attached to a lighted handle. With this idea the two couples Tom and Ann Coleman and Bill and Ann Schlotter formed BAAT (Bill, Ann, Ann, Tom) Enterprises. Ann Coleman was the Treasurer, Ann Schlotter the Secretary and Bill and Tom the Inventors. They spent the next four years trying to sell the idea. In 1991 they met Russell Gold, an engineer from Cap Toys, at the Impact Invention show in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They showed him the Sci-Fi candy treats and Russell knew they had a hit on their hands. Cap Toys flew the couples to Cleveland. They signed a deal on the spot. Glow pops were renamed Lazer Pops and did well, but it was their next idea that was the daddy of all interactive candy, "the lazy mans lollipop", the Spin Pop. Cap Toys created a division called CT Gifts, which later became Cap Candies to handle Spin Pops. The largest hurdle for spin pops was convincing retailers that consumers would shell out $2.99 a pop (sorry I couldn't resist), an unheard of price for a lollipop. But buy they did.

What do you think about that? I mean, something that cost $2.99, ( Parents we have all, pardon the pun, been "suckered" into buying on of those things.) and those trailer park-mailmen are now millionaires. Any ideas on what I could invent?...Yeah, none here either...YET...LOL.



Still searching for a "signature" closing,

Me :o)

Paint Chips

Talking paint with Mr. Chad is like speaking Chinese...you know you're not saying it right, and you can tell by his facial expression that he damn sure doesn't understand a word you are saying...LOL.

I buy paint based on the name of it...I mean, it has to be roughly the color I'm looking for, but I will always buy Aloe Glow over light green. The name of the paint just seems to add a certain Je ne sais quoi...makes me feel like I've added a personality to the space.

For the past few weeks, I have been acquiring paint chips. I am probably the biggest paint snob that I know...LOL. I think there is no paint like BEHR, but I loved Christopher Lowell paint, too--when I used it a few years ago. As far as names, Martha Stewart wins hands down, but for my budget currently...it will have to be Dutch Boy from Wal-Mart, and that's okay with me...LOL.

In defense of Dutch Boy, though, they definitely have some pretty good names...Asian Silk, Galaxy Depths, Artful Red, Ballerina Kiss, Chocolate Truffle, Cantaloupe Frost, and Mmm Mint. I can't decide whether it makes me want to travel...or eat...LOL.

Wait, yes, I can...
I think I hear low-carb Butter Pecan ice-cream calling...LOL.

from the center of Mr. Chad's universe,
me :o)

City Mouse...Country Mouse OR Grey Goose...Goose Creek

Mr. Chad and I are country mouse and city mouse. I say it all the time, or refer to something that suggests how obvious it is...

If it wasn't evident by looking at the cakes at our wedding (horseshoe pit for him--trendy circles for me), then it has to be obvious in our dress. Currently, I own 1 pair of jeans and no "flat" dress shoes...and he owns NO jacket and dress slacks. I have hats for every occasion and his only tie came from Goodwill as a joke. His drink of choice is Bud Light, while mine is anything served in stemmed or footed glasses that normally has something in it as a swanky garnishment.

Our taste in music is definitely different and this past Saturday night was a lesson in his "type" for me. For years, Mr. Chad has listened to a group called Goose Creek Symphony. I listen to them when he does, but they're not on my Ipod (yet). He has seen them in concert, but I never had, so as a wedding gift, I got us tickets to see them in what could be their last tour. (They look like the Grateful Dead with some Earl Thomas Conley thrown in to mix it up...probably not a lot of tour dates in their future...LOL.) The concert was in Clintwood, VA--a little town about 30 miles from us--a very quaint place, and the venue was an old, refurbished theatre. Nostalgia at its best.

It was a great concert and I loved the band live. We ran into a friend of mine from work (his band Velvet Water opened for GGS) and i LOVED introducing Mr. Chad as "my husband". All in all, it was a fun time...good music, little town, man of my dreams--this city mouse had a great time being a little country.

Mr. Chad's wife,
me :o)

Happy Birthday, MeMaw.

Time doesn't heal all wounds or sense of loss.

Today would have been my grandmother's 91st birthday.

It's going on 5 years and I still think I can wish her back.

She was such an original...she ALWAYS had an opinion...good, bad, or ugly.

She raised me and made me into who I am...good, bad, or ugly...LOL.

I look at my girls and think how much she would have loved them, and how sad I am for them that they will not know her the way I did.

Catarina can remember her and Claudia asks when I'm going to take her to see MeMaw Hall's grave. I always say that I'm going to do it, but have never been back myself...and don't know when I can make myself do it...I guess I'll put it off until I have to face it FOR THEM.

We all know that I like to correlate music to events, time, people, etc...MeMaw is no different. Although, this correlation may crack you up. I always think of my Granny when I hear ELVIS...but not b/c she loved him...LOL. She couldn't stand him. (Sorry, KR...I know he's from Mississippi...LOL) I find it soooo funny. She had 12 kids and all their names started with an "E"...but one of the greatest musicians of all time irked her...and she would proudly tell you that none of her boys were marred with the name Elvis.

Happy Birthday, Granny!

Thanks to you, I didn't end up in the ghetto (in the ghetto...y'all sang it, too, didn't ya?...LOL)

Love, the granddaughter that LOVES you most (heehee),

Christy

New Home...New Baby...LOL.

Lucky the cat came with our new "manufactured" home. No, we did not get her as a "free with purchase" gift. She was literally, in the bottom packed up in the insulation. Mr. Chad and his dad heard her meowwwwing and looked until they found her...well, they found her feet...and then the rest of her...

Our theory is that the momma cat was moving them before the house was delivered and he was not fortunate enough to get moved...or he was the only one to survive the ride to the property. (We like to think it was the first scenario, the latter seems so sad.) Hence, the name lucky, though...LOL.

With everything going on, Mr. Chad and I wanted to keep the kitten but knew it would be hard b/c she needed so much attention. So we turned to his mother and she was searching for boxes, blankets, eye droppers, etc. before we even said anything. It was such a sweet surprise to find this kitten. Old Wives' Tale...new house-new baby, right???

Right now, this is about as "new" baby as I can get...b/c the 2 I have are trying to slowly kill me with their split personalities..."Mom, tell Claudia to leave me alone"..."Mom, Sister is touching me"..."Mom, I'll read to her"..."Mom, I'll give Sister one of my webkinz, so that she can have one, too."....Folks, this is what happens when you're children are 6 years apart; it's love one minute and loathing the next...but it is, also, the sweetest emotion to experience...to watch them grow together...

Do cats or animals, in general, have these emotions? Does this kitten miss her momma? Does the momma realize that she has lost a kitten. Something to ponder on a slow day...I'll continue to watch lucky grow...and feel "lucky" that I get to watch mine grow.

TTFN,
Ms. Christy :o)

Home Sweet (Manufactured) Home

OK, so it turns out that Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s "starter" home was a glorified double-wide...woo-hoo, we now have more than just NASCAR in common. I am not a big supporter of the buy-a-home, pull it to a piece of property kinda gal, but when you love someone...you'd just about live in a cardboard box to be with them. This manufactured home is beautiful. It has 5 bedrooms, 3 baths, fireplace, etc...but absolutely no resale value...which is fine with Mr. Chad b/c he will NEVER resale it...LOL. I laugh, but I am not kidding.

My dream is to build my own home. I want to be with it from the time they lay the first block or pour the first concrete footer to the time they put the last outlet cover on...and I want to think that it is not just a dream.

Don't get me wrong. My house growing up was nothing like this...I should have been so lucky.

He and I kind of came to an agreement, though. I will make decisions on the inside (Hello, Silk Purse!) and he will make decisions for the outside (Hello, Home Depot!)...and one day--maybe...I will still get to BUILD my dream home. We won't tell him, but there is no maybe, we're just letting him think that...

This bad boy "manufactured" home will be paid off in 5 years and that's the best thing about it! Will your house be paid off in 5 years?...LOL.

:o) Mrs. CbB

Summertime

I've always heard man must have 2 things to live...yeah, I agree!

New Stationery CBB...or bCb...Mrs.Boyd?

Oh my, how grown up we are now...LOL. Thank yous must go out, eventually, and I like "little notes" that just say thank you across the front and Hallmark on the back, but the wedding ones must say Christy and Chad Boyd (which I LOVE...LOL). With all that said, it also means that I must have new "personal" stationery, as well.

This may not seem like a great dilemma to you, but I'm truly thinking W.W.KR.D? (What would Kathy Randall do?)

I've designed like 4 different ones and I think the above will have to do. I guess my biggest question is should I put Mrs. before my name or just put my "new" married name. I am, finally, OK with being "the wife of" someone, and good thing too, b/c he wants me to be Mrs. Boyd...LOL. How old school is that?

Anyway, must order...now if I can just remember my new address...LOL.

:o) Mrs. Christy Buettner Boyd

pics from slide show...that I am working on...LOL.

My father-in-law, Roger and My Mother-in-law, Carolyn.
Carolyn with my Mother, Gwen.
Our beautiful, little flowergirl--Jordyn Blair.
My "always" goofy brother, Jamie.
Jordyn, Claudia, and Cass.

more pics as they come in...LOL

Me, walking up the steps to the church.

My beautiful flowers...made by Stanley at Home Town Florist in Whitesburg, KY. They were PERFECT!!!!

My "french fry", C2--My sister-in-law, Jamie--my undeniable favorite 15 year old, Catarina.

There's No Place Like Home...

Sometimes, I think I repeat myself on here. I try going back to make sure that I haven't, but there are a few things in life that we, as humans, tend to "harp" on...and my return home to the "mountains" appears to be one I have to defend on occasion, or maybe I'm not defending it...maybe I'm trying to convince myself. I am not sure-yet!...LOL.


We all know, or should, that I wanted to live in a NYC brownstone, but as of June 21st, I accepted the fact that it will never occur. I'm OK with that, b/c what i gave up--is something I assumed would be awesome and perfect and where Ross and Rachel would be my neighbors...for what I have now that really IS. Make sense?

The thought of my husband being in a place with more than 4 lanes of traffic, on a daily basis, is comical, too. You take him off of Rt.7 for more than a week and he loses his bearings...LOL. I fell in love with him though b/c of his true love of where he's from and that he knows and loves who he is...My husband is a verse and a chord of every Montgomery Gentry song...LOL. I wish I was kidding, right now, but I am not. :o)


I have NEVER felt that I belonged somewhere--Heck,anywhere for that matter. I have felt comfortable in many different places, but not like I belonged there. I do not feel that I belong in Eastern Kentucky, but it is now my home, and my home is with Mr. Chad, so maybe it's not a physical, tangible place, but it is a place that I can't describe, yet can now no longer live outside its boundaries.


Remember, Dorothy went to OZ and back only to discover she wanted nothing more than to return to her family. It saddens me to think that it has taken me 35 years to find the meaning of family...Until I fell in love with Mr. Chad, I could have lived anywhere in the world with my girls and been perfectly happy. My only family could have been Catarina and Claudia, and that would have been perfectly fine with me...Oh, and C2, Chris and Cass...the rest of my family. :o)


We all get to this point, though. Right? Where being a millionaire before 40 loses its depth and meaning...and planting a garden and watching it grow, as your children laugh in the back yard, becomes the most important thing in the world. You see the person that you love and that loves you back years from now in a swing with you trying to remember the name of the preacher that married you.


I hope. I pray, I'm finally at peace...that I am home.


...another sunny day
has come and gone away
in Paris and Rome...
but I wanna go home.

-Michael Buble'



Mrs. Chad Anthony Boyd (hee hee hee)