Heaven

For those who are so uninformed, the most perfect place in the world might possibly be Mullet Hall. We just got back from a week there, spent with my brother's family and my aunt and uncle - with almost daily visits from my sis-in-law's dad (to go fishing, of course) and a family friend. You would think 13 people would get on each other's nerves, but it's just not possible at Mullet Hall. Now quit with the dumb laughter - a mullet is a fish, not a haircut (actually, if you can believe it, I asked my aunt and uncle what Mullet Hall was named for...when I told them all my friends thought it was the haircut, they were like "What haircut?" I had to explain the whole "business up front, party in the back" thing - and they had no clue what I was talking about.)

Anyway, I wanted to share some of the reasons we love Mullet Hall...so here are some pix. I will let them speak for themselves (almost).




This is the house where we stay

We have to look at this all day long

This is one of my most favorite things in the whole world. We have taken this same picture every year for the past 6 years.

That would be my nephew Jacob, my neice Mary-Elizabeth, FrogBoy and Spanky, and my nephew David (a.k.a. The Adonis).

Things Are Getting Better

If you've read the last 2 or 3 posts, you know that the suppository is dying a slow and painful death. Amazingly, this has caused great sadness in 3 out of 4 Fitzgeralds. SuperHubby is just heartless.

Last night, as I was trying to fall asleep and wondering what I was going to do without a Giant Golden Suppository in my life, I was reminded of a discovery I made while on vacation last week. Vera Bradley's new fall line is out. OH HAPPY DAY.

Vera puts out new patterns and purse styles twice a year, and she is kind enough to have her fall line come out in July, a month before my birthday. It makes shopping for my birthday very simple, frankly (hint, hint).

When I walked into Carolina Girls in Fresh Fields (on Kiawah), I was instantly drawn to a FABULOUS pattern - brown with pink florals. Oddly enough, it is called Mod Floral Pink. I was excited to learn this is actually a new pattern, not some stupid "limited edition" offering that will only leave me wanting more. LIFE IS GOOD.

Now don't go online to look at the pattern, because it looks ridiculous on the website. (I know everyone wants to see it). I have never seen a picture be so unrepresentative of an item before in my life. Just trust me - it's FANTASTIC.

So, aside from a car and a laptop, which I doubt anyone will get me, I now know what I want for my birthday. Only 28 shopping days left, kids.

I Know Just What I Need

After spending most of yesterday whining and sulking about the situation with the suppository, it suddenly came to me last night...I don't necessarily need a new car, I just need a Sugar Daddy.

I don't even need a super-rich Sugar Daddy (I don't want to be greedy, after all). I just need a guy who is willing to help me out a little to get us out of the medical debt (and stupid tax) we've acquired.

There's only one little glitch, as far as I can see: I don't actually DO anything. SuperHubby cooks - so that's out. I'm a moderate housekeeper at best. I can't even really be counted on to attend various social functions, since I go to bed at 9:30 every night and only own 1 dress. My hair would look great, but that's about all I can promise.

However, I AM working on a plan...and I wanted everyone to know that I wasn't just sitting around moping and not doing anything about my sad situation.

The Suppository Goes Down the Drain

Being Fitzgeralds, we couldn't start our vacation on a simple, laid back note. Somehow, this year, I became the anti-Lori and packed the night before our trip...and left the grocery shopping for the day we were leaving. I figured I could hit the store on the way and save myself some hassle. No such luck.

We packed the cars. We got through some minor issues (who sits next to Mommy at Waffle House, where on earth is Winnie Pooh, things like that). Finally, we're on our way...and we're early.

I take FrogBoy and we go shopping. Now anyone who knows FrogBoy knows this is no easy feat, as he starts asking for a Lego about 5 seconds after we enter the store (regardless of whether they sell them or not). He also has a VERY short attention span for grocery shopping. Why did I take him, you ask? To help out SuperHubby, that's why.

So SH goes to put air in Froggie's bike tires while I go to get groceries. Except the suppository doesn't want to go with me. The old girl started shaking and sputtering like Linda Blair in The Excorcist. And it didn't get much better.

She's been spouting white clouds of smoke for some time now, and shaking uncontrollably in the mornings, but she just flat died on me. So I had to call SH to rescue us from the store, and we had to load all our groceries and luggage into the trunk of his car. Which meant no bike for FrogBoy (which actually didn't matter in the long run). We get to our vacation spot, which is a good 45 minutes away from where I broke down, and I call AAA to tow the stupid thing. And they inform me that they can't tow it unless someone meets them there to show ID. Yeah, like if we were going to steal something, we'd steal THAT.

Needless to say, SH was THRILLED to drive all the way back into town to meet the guy from AAA and give him $57 we didn't have. What a great start to our holiday.

Then today, we go to the mechanic and he informs us that, sadly, it is exactly what we thought it was, which was a blown head gasket, which is actually just as terrible as it sounds. So we can't afford to fix it, but we wouldn't want to if we could. And we can't afford a new car, because we've put over $1000 into the stupid suppository in the past couple of months. Lovely.

Apparently we can put fix-a-flat or some such nonsense inside the car and hope it will continue to get me from home to work for a few more weeks. Can you say "crap," my friends?

I'm wrapping up the vacation now, and have spent the better part of today doing laundry and getting life back to normal. However, this afternoon has been spent completely on sulking. I miss the suppository already.

Vacation Blues

I know what you're thinking...that sounds like an oxymoron...but give me a minute.

For the past 6 or 7 years (we've lost track), my entire extended family (the cool ones, anyway) have gone to a place called Mullet Hall (near Kiawah) for a wonderful, glorious, do-nothing week. The kids can roam free, it's on about a bazillion acres of undeveloped land so there's gators and deer and all the fishing you can handle, plus fields to pick whatever fruits and veggies your heart desires. At one point there was a pig (Magnolia), but sadly, she died. She was old and was attacked by dogs. We told the kids she had a heart attack.

Our kids have literally been going to Mullet Hall their whole lives. We've been backtracking it through pictures and memories and we believe FrogBoy was 2 or 2 1/2 when when first went, which would have made my niece 18 months old (and she's the youngest - and about to turn 8).

So this year, the big corporation has decided to - GASP! - sell Mullet Hall. And develop the land. Now this is upsetting for several reasons, the most obvious being that our annual family vacay is screwed, but also the loss of wildlife is very disturbing. Plus, it's MULLET HALL. (I think you have to be part of our family to understand that statement...)

Since this is our last year to go, we decided to make the most of it. We generally go for 5 or 6 days. We extended our reservation - to 7. Then yesterday we found out that the new owner wants in, on day 3 of our already scheduled vacay. And what can we do? He DOES own the joint, and regardless of whether we've been listed on the schedule since January, he OWNS it - so he doesn't owe us anything. And that really STINKS.

We had a lot planned for our last Mullet Hall trip. At least 2 fish frys. Homemade ice cream. ATV rides everyday (me and sis-in-law, not the kids). Boiled peanuts out the wazoo. Now, we're thinking fast and frugal, pack as light as possible, we might have half a week left and nothing to do (ideas, anyone?).

My wonderful, wonderful uncle, who works for Kiawah, is begging for a day or 2 more for us. We should know today. It will be a great time regardless of what happens, but of course, we would like to go out on our own glorious terms.

We leave on Friday - I'll post pictures of the most beautiful place in Charleston when we get back (whenever that might be).

What a Weekend!

This past weekend was an amazing one for our family. It started off pretty lousy - our air conditioning went out on Friday, quite possibly the hottest day in the history of mankind. Our thermostat only would register 90 - and it stayed there. The office brought us a window unit, which blasted cold air, but only directly in front of the unit. And sadly, we all sleep upstairs. By the time I got up Saturday morning, I had lost 37 pounds from sweating so much.

The repairmen showed up at our house at 7:30 a.m. Saturday. I have never been so happy to see people I didn't know. They stayed all day, throughout the monsoon and everything, and finished up at some point before we got home from church.

Church was the awesome part of the weekend. Spanky had been having some conversations with his karate instructor, explaining that he'd like to be a minister like his dad (we'll get him past the dislike of hospitals soon, I'm sure). This led to many conversations with SuperHubby about accepting Christ (which he'd already done) and his next step...baptism. So Saturday after church, SuperHubby baptized Spanky.

My brother and sis-in-law and their kids came to the service, and my aunt and uncle came for the baptism. It was really great to share this moment with our family. It was one of the highlights of my mom-hood!

To top it off, I got an unexpected gift from my brother and sis-in-law from Rome - they brought me the coolest bracelet that has purses all around it!

Nothing tops the baptism though! Even though we had to do it in the rain, even though we forgot towels - it was FANTABULOUS!

Flip Your Flops Off

I've been hearing a lot lately about how bad flip flops are for your feet. Personally, I'm inclined to believe all the hype. I generally try to ignore what the crowd is saying and forge my own way, but I have had some experience with bad feet, so I think I know whereof I speak.

For many years, I chose to wear traditional shoes, even in the summer. It didn't matter that my feet would sweat buckets. My ego had taken a hit when I was dating SuperHubby and he told me I had Fred Flintstone toes. (For those not in the know, that means my toes are stubby little nubs, like Fred's, from stopping the car with his feet). Anyway. The sad part is his was entirely correct and honest in his assessment.

Then I started noticing something. Not a lot of people have pretty feet. I'm sure some people do, but not a lot - and I can say this with near certainty because I work at Seacoast, where no one wears anything other than flips from March to October. And there are some funky feet around our office.

So a couple of summers ago, I decided to throw caution to the wind and start wearing flips. Out in public. And you know what? No one died of shock, no one barfed, and my feet were a lot cooler throughout the day. It was a glorious thing.

Fast forward to a several months ago, when my back was hurting so bad I couldn't hardly get out of bed. Being extremely quick on the uptake, I realized this probably had something to do with my very fashionable poor choice of footwear. I'd heard flips were terrible for your back (posture issues, gets you all out of alignment, dumb stuff like that). So I went out and bought a pair of crocs. Quite possibly the ugliest shoes around. But within 2 days, I could bend over and move and my back wasn't hurting anymore. I even did a little jig at work to prove I had been healed. (seriously - I have at least 5 witnesses - none of whom will ever be the same).

Now I believe all the nastiness about flips and all the loveliness about crocs. I am thinking of getting a pair of croc flops. They are semi-cute, and I'm sure they would offer the same cushiony support my ugly brown ones provide. Personally, I'm going more for the cute factor.

Readers take heed: toss your flips and get some crocs! Your sciatic nerve will thank you!

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