Who would have thought? Snow in Myrtle Beach!

There was an odd lack of hype about impending snow in the Grand Strand yesterday, but that may have been because today was a scheduled student holiday from school. Regardless, by 9:00 AM, the snow was coming down and accumulating on grass and cars. It was the most snow I've seen here since we relocated more than five years ago!

As you can expect, my children were so excited. They still are, actually, despite the fact that it hasn't been snowing for hours now. My little one has this very firm connection between white precip and hot chocolate, so as soon as my 3:00 meeting concludes I will happily whip her up a batch. Williams Sonoma's chocolate shaving variety is to die for!

What humors me most about all of this, is the northerner's attitude on this major weather event. "I can drive just fine in it, but won't dare get on the roads because no one here knows how. It's dangerous how stupid people are." News flash, folks. Practically nobody living here is from here. We ALL grew up driving in winter weather. It's idiots who get a little too confident in their ability that put the rest of us at risk. So word to the wise...if you have to venture out, use caution no matter how experienced you are in driving on snow. And by all means, if the media asks you how you feel about traveling during inclimate weather, resist the urge to let the world know you're from PA, have seen thousands of feet of snow in your lifetime and can handle the conditions even if all of those living around you can not. You don't look so smart.

Moms say the darnedest things

I was talking to my 19 year-old niece on the phone last night. It seems she and my mom were out shopping at Old Navy when into the dressing room walks a couple, who end up sharing a room. I'll assume no hanky panky went on, but before they left, evidently my mom whispered a tad too loudly, "I didn't know they had bisexual dressing rooms here!" Umm, that would be unisex, mom. Bisexual is a whooooooooole 'nother thing. ;-)

Thoughts on the inauguration...

What a historic day. I didn't vote for him, but the passion folks feel for Barrack Obama and the potential he holds to make real change for American citizens and those around the world is real. They hope they rest on his shoulders is huge. And while I hold my breath in anticipation of seeing what the next four years bring, I too can't help but to be swept up in the emotion of it all.

President Obama is a likeable man. He's an excellent speaker with powerful words. From his mouth to God's ears, I pray they go. May he really be able to make meaningful changes.

God Bless America!

Now while it's obvious I'm of no African American decent, I'm proud of being one today. LOL I couldn't be happier or more proud of a nation that has been able to see beyond color, which when determining ability, goodness, integrity or character is the most insignificant detail. I pray his leadership convinces those who hang on their biases how useless that emotion and energy spent are.

MM for 1/13/09 - Absent tonsils and adenoids

On this day, 25 years ago I had my tonsils and adenoids removed and tubes put in my ears. It was a decision that wasn't taken lightly by my parents. My pediatrician at the time didn't believe in this surgery. He felt it had been done needlessly in years prior and wasn't that useful of a surgery. I'll estimate, by the age of 9, I had at least ten cases of strep throat and minimally 25 ear infections. My health was bad and my parent decided, on their own, that it was time to see a specialist. Within a few weeks, I was scheduled for surgery.

On the day of it, I was so nervous I developed a fever and the date had to be rescheduled. Then, on January 13, 1984, Dr. SomethingWithAnF helped me out quite a bit. It hurt like hell and I wasn't terribly thrilled at the time, but I haven't had strep throat since!

So thank you, Doc. And ironically, on this day this year, my older daughter is home with school with...drumroll...double ear infections. :-(

MM for 1/12/09 - My mom

My heart aches for friends who don't have a close relationship with their mom as mine is priceless to me. We were on the phone talking about my daughter's upcoming birthday party. Admittedly, I was grumpy because things just weren't working out perfectly. Her response, "Don't worry honey, God will bless you." She's not normally so outwardly religious, but she made me think. I'm already blessed. A good birthday party is just icing on my cake of blessings.

Winter is coming to the Grand Strand!

I just saw the 7 day weather forecast - on Friday our high is predicted to be 39 degrees. On Saturday it will be 36. Yikes!

I can remember being a child growing up in NJ, begging my mother to let me stay out longer when I played in the snow with my friends. I easily overcame ice that had somehow gotten between my glove and coat sleeve. A little snow to the face never hurt anyone. I even got over any injuries to extremities, which we all know hurt worse when you're a kidcicle. But now, anything until 50 degrees requires mittens and a round of hot chocolate when I get back in. I'm reeling at a high of 36 degrees. I'm already researching crock pot soup recipes. It already feels like that kind of a day.

The only bright spot in this frigid weather is the possibility for snow. My little one is obsessed with it snowing. I always get questions like "Since it's winter, will it snow today?" and "It's pretty cold today (64 degrees), will it snow?" When we were in Disney World and there was "snow" at Hollywood Studios at the Osbourne Family Lights, she exclaimed with delight, "It's snowing today!" Adorable! Of course, she's got less of a tolerance for cold that I do. Naturally, as she's a Myrtle Beach native!

MM for 1/10/09 - Bride Wars!

I don't know what the deal is, but I've been dying to escape for a bit from my family and see a movie - alone. I've been with them pretty much full-time since before our Disney vacation and I just needed some time to think. So on the spur of the moment, I hopped in the shower and off I went. On the ride there I called two friends. The first didn't answer and the second was unable to join me. I'm humored by dying for alone time but asking friends to come along. LOL

Anyway, I went and saw Bride Wars with Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson. I won't give anything away, but what a perfect little movie to see by myself. Though it absolutely made me miss the crap out of my best friend, who lives in NJ. I left the theater still tearing, thinking about how I wished I could spend more time with her. On my way home I left her a message that went something like this...

"Hey Carli! I just went and saw Bride Wars by myself because my family is driving me nuts. And it made me miss you so much. So I decided...you're moving here. We'll help you find a new house and Scott a new job. We know people. And that way we can get back to being "see you once a year if we're lucky" friends to "I'm sending the kids over for a bit." friends." Here's were my voice cracked, a lump in my throat formed and I started talking really rapidly and making little sense, so I wrapped it up.

The movie didn't get the best reviews, but I liked it!

MM for 1/9/09 - Those who worked so hard to make Hard Rock Park Happen

Hubby and I just wanted a show called Colossal Construction on the Science Channel all about the construction of the Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach. I can't help but to feel really sad about it.

I can't give you the exact timeline, but the excitement that built about its opening was unreal. The media coverage was nonstop. A good friend of mine's husband worked for the park and was treated like a rockstar. We watched the big roller coaster be built. On opening night, rumor has it that the CEO landed in a helicopter on an actual red carpet amongst guests like Aerosmith and Celine Dion. That's pretty damn big for Myrtle Beach!

I believe that was in early April and by October the park was closed. The recent news is that it's gone Chapter 7 and being sold off in parts. Bye bye roller coaster. Bye bye giant Gibson guitar. It's all gone. But how the hell could that have happened so quickly? I'm still stunned as we never even got a chance to go.

Reports from the front lines alerted us that the price of admission wasn't comparable to other parks. We had already felt that way about the price for a season pass. Yet still, attendance was so bad that the thing couldn't stay open for more than 6 months? Are you kidding me?!

Tonight my momorable mention goes to all of those who put any blood, sweat, tears, faith or joy into that park. What a huge letdown for everyone involved. Watching this show tonight was almost unbearably sad and I wasn't ever truly emotionally involved. :-(

Momorable Mention for 1/8/09 - Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice

New episodes tonight! I've just watched Grey's and it was fantastic, as usual. I'm now half-way through Private Practice and holy cow! It's positively captivating! Is choosing against vaccination really child endangerment? It's a decision I wrestled with and still stress about. My 4 year old will not receive her scheduled round for another 10 months because her body mass is so low. Am I risking serious illness for her? *anxiety*

Momorable Mention for 1/7/09 - Myrtle Beach!

My momorable mention for yesterday goes to my good old hometown of Myrtle Beach. I was reading threads in an online community and someone was asking about places to stay and things to go. One of those responding talked about how Myrtle Beach was so commercial, crowded, touristy, generally dirty, full of college kids in the summer and known mostly for bumper to bumper traffic. In her opinion, though, North Myrtle Beach was, apparently a slice of heaven.

*ahem* Excuse me? Let me first say this is not about Myrtle Beach v. North Myrtle Beach. I've been there. It's just fine. I have no issues with it other than it being quite a drive for me, so I don't go there often. Regardless, here's a quick momorable mention to North Myrtle Beach, just to make clear I mean it no disrespect.

Let me go back about six years. I was pregnant with my older daughter, happily working as the Statewide Volunteer Coordinator for a state agency in North Carolina. My husband got a call from a career head hunter talking about a job in Myrtle Beach that sounded beyond great. He brought it to my attention and I immediately shot it down.

"Myrtle Beach?? It's so touristy down there! Yuck. I don't want to live there. Vacation there, maybe. Live there? No."


Two months later, it came up again. This time the fish got bigger. There was talk of some good money at this job and other perks. I was unrelenting.

A few weeks later, another call. My husband was getting built up about this opportunity and it started to hurt my heart to be so unbending. So I gave in. "Go down there and talk to these people. Let's get all the information."


He went. He loved. I had a baby. He went down again and the talks got serious.

When Baby was 3 months old, we packed her up in the family truckster, along with my mother-in-law as help and headed south for a weekend. We sat in horrible traffic as Baby screamed her little bald head off with me in the backseat. Myrtle Beach was not getting my best review at this point. We were almost two hours late meeting with our new real estate agent due to said traffic. Lesson #1, Never EVER venture out on 501 between about 10:00 AM and noon and 4:00 - 6:00 PM on any Saturday "in season". Tourist season, that is.


We spent the next few days looking at houses, cruising the area. I accepted it a bit more once I saw more than Business 17 and the strip. There were actual people living here, quite nicely I may add.

To make this long story short, we obviously decided to relocate, hubby took the job and here I am writing about how much I love this area. There is so much to do! The beaches are beautiful! The neighbors are so enjoyable and make lovely homes for our families. I'm pleased with the school system. The weather is beautiful. I'm happy here and I'm happy to defend why.


I was just to Disney World a few weeks ago. Crowded? Yep. Trafficky? Yep. Busy? Absolutely. Commercial? Ha! I don't even need to answer that. Did I leave there wish I could stay longer? *nodding*

So give Myrtle Beach a break, lady. It's a pretty darn nice place to visit and live. :-)

An early Momorable Mention for 1/6/09 - Will & Grace reruns

I'm a simple girl. It's 11:12, I have 15 minutes before I need to leave to pick my little ballerina up from preschool and I'm laughing out loud at a rerun of Will & Grace on Lifetime. That you, Lifetime, for humoring me!

Momorable Mention for 1/5/09 - Dancey Dancey Dance

Today's Momorable Mention goes to my younger daughter and her love for her dance class. This kid is a quirkly little girl. She's four and ever since I can remember, she makes up her mind about something and proceeds. This was the case with dance class. We asked if she wanted to take one, she said yes and then she executed. She's a resolute little girl who can't be persuaded into doing something she doesn't want to do. One of my children will jump off the Brooklyn bridge with her friends. This other child will absolutely not. I think she's cool for having such a strong personality. It drives me NUTS sometimes, but ultimately I think it's cool. :-)

Momorable Mention for 1/4/09 - 1-on-1 time with my girls!

My husband and I had the rare opportunity yesterday to have one-on-one time with each of our girls yesterday. In the afternoon we lazily lounged in our bed with our younger daughter, watching TV, snuggling with her, having a snack, talking and just generally enjoying each other's company. A little while later, she fell asleep in my arms. Soooo sweet! At age 4, I'm not sure how many more times she'll do that. Though she did do it a few times while in Disney World. :-)

In the evening, little one was sleeping and hubby and I got to eat dinner and do some writing with our older daughter. For days she's been complaining about a tummy ache, but once we got a pencil in her hand, she perked right up! That's my girl! We also got to watch most of Father of the Bride - Part II with her.

It was so nice focusing only on one child at a time. Each child was soaking that attention up, too!

Momorable Mention for 1/3/09 - My dear friend dealing with unemployment in her family

One of my dear friends, and trust me, I only have a handful, is going through a tough time now. Her husband has been out of work for awhile and the stress of their financial situation and the anxiety that comes with this desperate situation are getting her down. I want to cry to for her. She is an amazing woman whom I care about very much. I've known her since our older daughters were 15 months old. She's smart. She's kind. She's honest. She's my kind of gal. And I'm so sad for her and her family. It's simply not fair. I wish, wholeheartedly, that I knew of an opportunity for her husband. If they end up moving because of this, I'll be even sadder. :-( This post isn't just about doom and gloom, though. My momorable mention goes to her because she's kept her family running smoothly despite all of these challenges. She's stepped up to the plate as the CFO of her family, pinching every penny twice while keeping things running. She's stepped up as a wife, supporting her husband in every way possible, even though this whole thing is as emotionally taxing on her as it is him. She's stepped up as a mom by continuing to keep her children as blissfully unaware as possible. She's stepped up for herself by continuing to be thankful for the blessings she had. I can't count how many times I heard her say things like "I know there are lots of other people in a worse situation" or "We're so blessed to have healthy children."

She's a wonderful person and I'm so proud of her. It's times like these that tell you what a person is really made of. And folks, I love her ingredients.

I don't think you're reading this, dear friend, but you and your family remain in my prayers. You're an amazing woman. *hugs*

Momorable Mention for 1/2/09 - My Little Pirate

My momorable mention for 1/2/09 goes to my older daughter. She sure can flip out about the smallest things, but seems to handle the bigger ones with ease. *shrug* Today we had an eye doctor appointment for her. She got glasses in November and we learned today that she'll need to wear an eye patch for minimally four months, but as many as two years. Thankfully it's just for two hours a day, but still... I know it's not fun. She's being SO brave and compliant about it, even though I know it's got to be a bit frustrating. My heart breaks for her having to go through this, but I'm also so darn proud.

Momorable Mention for 1/1/09 - FOB

In a room full of people, my favorite oldest brother (affectionately referred to as FOB) stopped his partying at 12:02 AM on New Year's Day to call me for two minutes and wish me a happy new year. He's so thoughtful and I love him dearly. My heart is with him always.

Can I do it? 365 Momorable Mentions for 2009?

Is it possible for me to do 365 Momorable Mentions for 2009? Will it be a little ray of sunshine in my life and anyone reading to have 365 positive thoughts? Can I actually be dedicated to post daily, or pretty much daily, and not complain?! Hmm... It's worth a try!

Myrtle Beach Resturant Review - Olive Garden (it's getting sad)

I can remember, about 15 years ago, going to Disney World with my family and discovering the wonder of Olive Garden. The pasta, the salad, the bread...yummy, yummy, yummy. Until a few years ago, it was the setting for a wonderful meal, every single time! But then, it changed. And I can't explain what, exactly, what's different but now it's pretty undesirable, despite there always being an hour wait to be seated during the tourist season here in the good old Grand Strand.

A week, or so, ago, we got a $6 off two entrees coupon and this swayed me to give it another try. It was the first one in a few years.

When we arrived, it was early - before 5:30 PM and we were seated immediately. Our waitress was very nice and eager to please. She offered to start our daughters' food immediately so they could have their food quickly, which is always a plus.

As I browsed the menu, nothing stood out, which should have been my first clue that I'd be disappointed. I finally chose the Braised Beef and Tortelloni.

The tortelloni was yummy, as was the sauce, but the beef looked much like dog food. It had no texture and appeared to be quick processed. I had a hard time distinguishing immediately between it and the sliced mushroom, also in the sauce. Just for the record Olive Garden, mushrooms and slices of beef should be easy to differentiate.

Even with our coupon, our dinner came to about $50. And trust me, I would have much rather spent a few more dollars and headed down to Bonefish Grill. I live for Bang Bang Shrimp!

My five most favorite things about the holidays...

1. Christmas Eve mass complete with a pageant put on by the children of the church. I always cry during the final hymn, Joy to the World.

2. Wrapping gifts on Christmas Eve. It reminds me of the days when my sister-in-law would come over to wrap the gifts for my nieces with my mom and I, when I was a teenager. To this day, the smell of scotch tape reminds me of this annual tradition.

3. Elf, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Christmas with the Kranks and TBS' 24 hour A Christmas Story marathon.

4. Memories associated with ornaments on our tree.

5. Driving around, looking at our neighbor's Christmas lights.