Welcome to 2009

So after talking to my dad the other day I realized that according to my blog I have been missing in action since the new year. I wish I had some great story to tell you as to where I have been and the glamorous life I have been living but it really just comes down to a few things...



...this along with other drugs have been my comfort since I got back to Pineville. I have been sick for almost three weeks now with congestion and coughing. It always starts as a sinus/allergy thing and then moves down into my chest. Usually within a week it has run its course and I am back to normal. This time it's held on....oh the joy of getting older. Mornings are rough but if I can drag myself out of the bed, refill on meds, drink a cup of freshly ground coffee and take a hot shower then I can press on through my day. And here would be the other reason....and truth be told the real reason I have fallen off the blog world...



I got TiVo for Christmas and it has changed my life. I have become addicted to television because I can watch all the shows I like when I want without having to watch the commercials. IT'S AMAZING. It truly is the gift that keeps in giving. Here are just a few of the shows that I record on a daily/weekly basis: The View, The Ellen Degenerous Show, House, Jon and Kate plus 8, Extreme Home Make-over, Nanny 911, Friends, Bromance (that's for you Laura), American Idol, Heroes and the list goes on and on. Have I mentioned I love TiVo?

So this is the reason I haven't blogged since I got back to Pineville....between being sick and being addicted to television who has time to blog?? I vow to do better though!

Thirty One and Having Fun!!

Yesterday was my 31st birthday. I have absolutely loved being 30 so 31 was not a hard birthday for me to embrace, unlike some of my friends. I wanted to bring in 31 in style. My dad, Scotty and my sister and I spent the day in Atlanta seeing the sights. I can honestly say I have never been up so early on my birthday before, at least not since I can remember. We headed out of town around 6:30am and our first stop was the Georgia Aquarium. It was great fun but we were all a little disappointed because we thought it was going to be so much better than the Tennessee Aquarium. It was fun none the less. Here are some pictures from the aquarium:


first picture of the day and first picture at 31...I don't think I look any older!

jellyfish....cool from behind the glass, not so cool when they sting you in the ocean

the Muslim dauphin (Teri)

the retarded shark (me)

Then is was on the World of Coca-Cola museum. I have been a long long time ago but it has changed quite a bit. You get to see how coke is made and view all the past logos and stuff. It was fun to me....I mean come on, coke is the number one most recognizable name brand in the world. Highlight of the day was probably getting to sit on the couch from American Idol Season 4. I love that show! The tour also included a 4D movie experience that was a lot of fun. At the end of the tour you got to go to the tasting room and try 64 different varieties of coke from around the world. I wasn't brave enough to try them all but the ones I tasted weren't too bad. They had a special holiday blend that was chocolate mint flavored and I LOVED IT!! I wish they would bottle that for sale. I also got a bottle of coke as I was leaving that was made and bottled on my birthday. Cool ugh? I thought so...

Me and my pops just chillin on the American Idol couch

Last but not least was a little walk through downtown Atlanta's Underground mall. I got a homemade peanut butter cup from a fudge shop. Honestly I think Reese's does them better. I also took a little time out to take some pictures with a random statue on the street. I have managed to keep my blog kid friendly but some times you just have to be true to yourself so I am finally going to post an "inappropriate" but funny picture from my birthday adventure...

this is me and my new friend


this is my dad and Scotty


I had a FABULOUS birthday and hope it's just a sign of what is to come this year. Thanks for making it a great one! I loved my road trip and all the birthday calls, text messages and facebook messages I received. I felt very loved. THANKS!! Here's to looking forward to year 31!

A Blast From The Past

I was able to reconnect with my friend Angela the other day. We were best friends all through middle and high school and then lost touch when we went to college. The last time I saw her was about 6 years ago. She had just gotten married. Now she has been married for 6 years and had a 4 year old son and a 2 year old daughter. It was go good to reconnect but wow it was a lot to take in playing with her kids. Joel looks just like her brother so I felt like I was just watching Jonathan in a child form. And every time I heard one of them call her mom I would just look at her and say "that is crazy!"

Thanks to the world of facebook I have been able to reconnect with lots of old friends and its been wonderful!

my friend Angela and her babies

this is Joel Vincent (4) and quite the handful

this is Neely Rene (2)

Unpredictable Weather

So I thought maybe going home to Alabama would insure me some more predictable weather than what I was experiencing in you Louisiana....not so much! One day you wake up and its in the upper 70's and the next day it's back down in the 40's. No wonder everyone is sick this holiday season. This picture is a prime example of what I am talking about. I wish it was a full body shot because you would see that I was wearing flip flops while I had this ridiculous snow cap on. My sister wanted me to buy it so bad but I would never have a reason to wear it. In fact I almost passed out from having in on my head just long enough to take some silly pictures.

A Rockin' Good Christmas

Christmas has been good to the Thomas family! We went to the Christmas Eve Service at church with mom and came back to Dad and Scotty's to eat dinner. It has become a Christmas tradition to eat baked oysters and they were yummy...all 50 of them! The presents were a plenty. I got a new crock pot, bath towels, a subscription to Rachel Ray (yay), an Auburn coffee mug and more.

Here are some pictures of my sister Teri and I posing around the tree. It doesn't take much for us to entertain ourselves.

Rocking Around the Christmas Tree


Springville's Next Top Model


the yummy oysters!

Then it was on to Teri's to spend the night with mom. We snuggled up in our PJs on the couch and watched The Holiday (one of my favorite movies). After failing to convince them we should open presents since we were still up at midnight we all went to bed so Santa could come. We decided to spend Christmas Day with Mom and not be rushed this year. We finally ate breakfast at 10:00am when I got the homemade cinnamon rolls finished. They were so good and it was a good thing because they were a mess to make and I even set the smoke detectors off cooking them. Oops! After breakfast it was present time. I pretty much got a new wardrobe from mom and Teri and mom pulled the ultimate surprise after convincing me I wasn't getting Guitar Here World Tour. As you can see in the pictures...I was just a "wii" bit excited! Mom layed down for a Christmas nap while Teri and I rocked out in the living room. I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!

this would be the reason I didn't see a Rock Band size box under the tree...tricky!


Watch out Paula Dean..

The Kid in Us All

So I truly believe that Christmas brings out the kid in us all. Obviously some more than others. I am the only one in my family who still begs to open present early. In fact when I roll into town for the holidays I inspect all the presents under the tree to see which ones are mine. I just can't help myself. This year the kid in me was looking for a particular shaped box...a Guitar Hero World Tour box to be exact. I knew it wouldn't be under dad's tree. I love him but he doesn't understand my love for such games and thinks they are a waste of money. That's okay because I have the life changing gift of TiVo under his tree. I haven't seen a box big enough under mom's tree either but am hopeful it might appear for my birthday.

With or without Guitar Hero...I absolutely love the anticipation of Christmas. Lots of good stuff under the tree, lots of good food on the table. And this year I plan to spend most of the day in my PJ's...hopefully behind a drum set :) I am even attempting to make homemade cinnamon rolls Christmas morning.

I hope this Holiday Season finds the kid in you! Have a very Merry Christmas and I pray that 2009 holds nothing but blessings for all of those who follow this blog!

New Haircut

I always get a wild hair right before the holidays to do something different to my hair. Not sure why because my family can be a little critical when they don't like the new look. Usually it's a do it yourself color or cut by my roommate but this time I went and had it done. I think it turned out pretty well...we'll see what the critics at home have to say.